Yleisimm

Yleisimm is a stem found in Finnish adjectives derived from yleinen, meaning general or common. It is not typically used as a standalone word in ordinary speech, but it appears inside inflected forms that express the superlative degree of generality, such as yleisimmät or yleisimmän. In practice, the stem yleisimm- is the part of the word that carries the core meaning “the most common,” with various endings added to indicate number, case, and mood.

Morphology and usage

In Finnish, adjectives form degrees and agree with the noun they modify through suffixes rather than separate words. The most common superlative forms of yleinen include yleisin (the most common) and yleisimmät (the most common ones). The stem yleisimm- appears when these endings are attached, for example to create plural forms or genitive forms: yleisimmät, yleisimmän. The stem also enables adverbial or emphatic constructions such as yleisimmillään, meaning “in its most common state” or “most commonly.”

Examples

- Tämä on yleisimmät syyt. (These are the most common reasons.) Note: standard Finnish would typically use yleisimmät here with a plural noun.

- Oireet ilmenevät yleisimmillään alkuvaiheessa. (The symptoms appear most commonly in the early stage.)

Relation to broader grammar

Yleisimm- functions as part of the family of forms built from yleinen. While yleisin and yleisimmät are the common stand-alone superlatives, yleisimm- serves as the connective stem for many inflected endings. It illustrates Finnish adjective gradation and the way degree, number, and case are encoded in suffixes rather than separate words. See also yleinen, Finnish adjective morphology, and Finnish superlatives.