Tietyt

Tietyt is the plural nominative form of the Finnish adjective tietty, meaning "certain" or "particular." It is used to refer to a subset of things or people that is known or defined in the context. For example, "Ostin tietyt kirjat" translates to “I bought certain books,” and "tietyt ihmiset" means “certain people.”

Grammar and usage

Tietty is an attributive adjective that agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case. Its basic forms include tietty (singular nominative) and tietyt (plural nominative), with other case forms such as tietyn (genitive singular) and tiettyjä (partitive plural). The precise endings depend on the noun’s case, but the core meaning—“a defined subset of items or people”—remains consistent.

Nuance and comparison

The use of tietyt implies a defined pick, often shared knowledge between speaker and listener. It conveys more specificity than jotkut (some, unspecific) and can be closer in meaning to "certain" or "particular" in English. While tietty can refer to a single item in the singular (tietty asia), tietyt is its plural counterpart applied to multiple items or people.

Notes

As with other Finnish adjectives, the form of tietty/tietyt changes to reflect the case and number of the noun it modifies. It is common in both formal and everyday Finnish, especially when the speaker wants to indicate a specific subset rather than a vague or open-ended group.

See also

Finnish grammar; adjectives; determiners.