kehnomainen

Kehnomainen is a Finnish adjective describing something that is of poor quality, unsatisfactory, or substandard. It is formed from the root kehno 'poor' with the derivational suffix -mainen, which creates adjectives that express a characteristic or quality. The word is primarily found in descriptive or evaluative writing and is less common in everyday speech, where kehno or heppoinen are more typical choices.

Usage of keh nomainen carries a mildly pejorative or ironic nuance and is usually employed to emphasize that a thing exhibits the quality consistently or in a notable way. It is common in literary, journalistic, or critical contexts, and can appear before a noun, as in kehnomainen elokuva (a substandard film) or kehnomainen työpanos (a subpar contribution). In inflected form, it follows standard Finnish adjective patterns, for example kehnomaisen elokuvan (genitive) or kehnomaista elokuvaa (partitive).

Morphology and inflection: kehnomainen behaves like other -mainen adjectives. The base form is kehnomainen; comparative forms are kehnomaisempi and kehnomaisin in the appropriate contexts. The adjective agrees with the noun in number and case, for example kehnomainen elokuva, kehnomaisen elokuvan, kehnomaista elokuvaa.

Etymology and related terms: The word is built from kehno 'poor' with the suffix -mainen, and resides in the same semantic field as kehno, heppoinen, and laimea. It carries a more emphatic or literary nuance than the everyday alternatives.

See also: kehno; heppoinen; laimea.