ilmaisen

Ilmainen is a Finnish adjective meaning free of charge, gratis, or complimentary. The form ilmaisen is one inflected variant of ilmainen, used when the adjective accompanies a noun in different grammatical cases. In standard Finnish, ilmainen is widely used to indicate that something does not require payment. Common phrases include ilmainen pääsy (free admission) and ilmainen wifi (free Wi‑Fi).

Ilmainen contrasts with maksuton, another common term for items or services that cost nothing, though maksuton is more formal in some contexts. The adjective ilmainen typically appears before the noun it describes, but its form changes to agree with case and number in longer sentences, as Finnish nouns and adjectives bend together in inflection. The adverbial equivalent meaning “for free” is ilmaiseksi, used to modify verbs or whole clauses, for example “se annettiin ilmaiseksi” (it was given for free).

Translations and nuance: ilmainen corresponds to English “free of charge,” “gratis,” or “complimentary.” In technology and software, Finns often distinguish free of charge from freedom of use; “vapaa” is sometimes preferred to express freedom in the sense of open source (for example, vapaa ohjelmisto) rather than price alone, though ilmainen can still be used in that domain.

See also: maksuton, vapaa, ilmainen ohjelmisto.