Tyhjyys

Tyhjyys is a Finnish noun meaning emptiness or void. It describes the state of being empty or devoid of content, substance, or meaning in a given sense. The word derives from tyhjä, “empty,” with the abstract-noun suffix -yys, forming a general concept rather than a concrete object. In everyday Finnish, tyhjyys can refer to physical absence (for example, a tyhjä huone, an empty room) as well as to more figurative gaps in space, time, or life.

In literature and art, tyhjyys is often used to convey an existential mood—an sense of vacancy, hollowness, or spiritual emptiness. The term can function as a metaphor for meaninglessness or for a perceived lack of content in experiences or environments.

In philosophical and religious contexts, tyhjyys is used as a translation of emptiness (śūnyatā) in Buddhism. In Finnish discussions, it may appear in analyses of perception, reality, and interdependence, describing a view that phenomena lack inherent, independent existence rather than being simply nothing. The term thus carries both technical and poetic senses, depending on the text and tradition.

In contemporary psychology and everyday speech, tyhjyys can denote emotional numbness or alienation, but it can also simply indicate the absence of a measurable quantity or a concrete thing. Across contexts, tyhjyys spans concrete emptiness to more abstract experienced void, with meaning shaped by usage and discourse.