epäasiallisissa

Epäasiallisissa is the inessive plural form of the Finnish adjective epäasiallinen, meaning "inappropriate" or "improper." It is used to describe conduct, remarks or situations that are not considered appropriate. In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify, and epäasiallisissa is typically attached to a following noun in the inessive plural, as in epäasiallisissa tilanteissa or epäasiallisissa kommenteissa. The corresponding singular forms are epäasiallisessa (inessive singular) and epäasialliset (nominative plural).

Etymology: The word is formed from the negation prefix epä- meaning "not" or "un-" and the base asiallinen, meaning "proper" or "appropriate." The suffix -linen creates an adjective. Thus epäasiallinen literally conveys "not proper" or "not appropriate."

Usage and nuance: Epäasiallisia describes actions, statements or circumstances that fall outside norms of propriety or politeness. It is a neutral descriptive term that can appear in both formal and informal contexts, including journalism, analysis and everyday discussion. For expressing wrongdoing or improper manner more specifically, speakers may use the adverbial form epäasiallisesti (in an inappropriate way) or related nouns such as epäasiallisuus (inappropriateness).

See also and related terms: The term sits with other Finnish descriptors of propriety, such as asiallinen (proper) and epäsopiva (inappropriate or unsuitable). Understanding epäasiallisissa often requires a following noun in the same case (for example, tilanteissa, kommenteissa, käytöksessä) to complete the meaning.