läheltäpiti

Läheltä piti is a Finnish expression that describes a near miss or close call—an incident in which harm or damage almost occurred but did not. The usual form in standard Finnish is two words: läheltä piti. Läheltäpiti is a common misspelling or informal variant that you may encounter in everyday writing, but the preferred spelling in formal contexts is two words.

Usage of the phrase spans everyday speech, journalism, and safety discussions. It is used to summarize events where danger was narrowly avoided, such as traffic situations, workplace incidents, or near accidents in various activities. The expression can stand alone as an exclamation—Läheltä piti!—or be embedded in a sentence: Se oli läheltä piti, onneksi kukaan ei loukkaantunut.

In translation, läheltä piti corresponds to the English term near miss or close call. It is often employed to convey relief or surprise at how a risky situation did not result in harm. The phrase is idiomatic and commonly used in both casual conversation and media reporting.

Context and nuance: Near-miss reports frequently appear in traffic updates, safety briefings, and incident summaries. For more formal or technical writing, alternatives such as onnettomuus vältettiin or tilanne oli vaarallinen mutta ei johtanut vahinkoon may be used to describe the outcome without the colloquial tone. Overall, läheltä piti captures the sense of relief after narrowly avoiding negative consequences.