Yleistä

Yleistä is the partitive singular form of the Finnish adjective yleinen, meaning general or common. In Finnish, adjectives decline for number and case, so yleinen has several inflected forms. Yleistä functions as a general descriptor that refers to non-specific qualities or broad patterns rather than particular instances.

Usage and meaning: Yleistä is used to express generalities, trends, or indefinite quantities. It often appears in sentences that present general statements. For example, "Yleistä on, että ihmiset ovat kiireisiä" means “Generally, people are busy.” It can also appear in phrases describing common features or problems, such as "Yleisiä piirteitä ovat avoimuus ja luotettavuus" (common features are openness and reliability) or "Yleisiä ongelmia ovat..." (general problems include...). The form chosen matches the noun it modifies in number and case; nominative singular is yleinen, genitive yleisen, partitive singular yleistä, and partitive plural yleisiä.

Grammatical notes: Finnish adjectives inflect to agree with the noun they describe, including case and number. The partitive form yleistä is used when the object is indefinite or when the sentence requires the partitive case, which is common in statements about generalities or uncountable concepts.

Relation to related terms: yleinen is the base adjective meaning general, broad, or typical, while yleistä is the specific inflected form used in general statements. The word contrasts with more specific descriptors and is a standard tool for introducing overarching observations in Finnish prose, academic writing, journalism, and everyday speech.