Yhä

Yhä is a Finnish adverb meaning still, yet, or more and more. It is used to indicate a continuing increase in degree or persistence of a state, and it does not change form. In Finnish, yhä typically precedes the word it modifies, functioning to intensify or extend the degree of that word.

Common usages include yhä useampi, yhä suurempi, and yhä parempi. For example, yhä useampi ihminen kiinnittää huomiota ympäristövaikutuksiin (more and more people pay attention to environmental impacts), yhä suurempi osa ihmisistä (a larger share of people), and yhä parempi ratkaisu (an even better solution). Yhä can also modify verbs or adjectives in phrases like se kasvaa yhä (it keeps growing) or kuulen sen yhä useammin (I hear it more and more often).

Nuance and function: yhä emphasizes progression, duration, or intensification and often conveys a stronger sense of change than merely kuul or vielä in some contexts. It is widely used in formal and informal Finnish, including journalism, literature, and everyday speech.

Etymology and grammar: yhä is a native Finnish adverb and is invariant, meaning it does not inflect for case or number. It collaborates with comparative forms and other degree words to express progressive change rather than to describe a static state. See also related degree adverbs such as vielä and enemmän, which serve different nuances in expressing time or extent.