mainintojen

Mainintojen is the genitive plural form of the Finnish noun maininto, which denotes enthusiasm, eagerness, or keen interest. The concept can refer to a collection of enthusiasms or to the level of enthusiasm possessed by a person or group. In Finnish, maininto is a relatively formal or literary term; it is less common in casual speech, where innostus or into are more frequently used.

In use, mainintojen is typically employed when discussing several distinct enthusiasms or when attributing enthusiasm to something else, for example when describing the range of a team’s or a learner’s motivations, or the different enthusiasms present within a community. Typical collocations include phrases like mainintojen kirjo (the range of enthusiasms) or mainintojen taso (the level of enthusiasm).

Synonyms and related concepts include innostus, into, and innokkuus. Maininto tends to emphasize a sustained or actively pursued interest, whereas innostus can be broader and more immediate.

Grammatically, mainintojen follows standard Finnish plural-genitive inflection and appears in written and formal prose. Because it is somewhat specialized, it is most commonly encountered in linguistic descriptions, educational contexts, or cultural studies rather than in everyday conversation.

See also: innostus, into, innokkuus