minuutteja

Minuutteja is the partitive plural form of the Finnish noun minuutti, a unit of time equal to 60 seconds. In Finnish, quantities of minutes are often expressed using the partitive case, especially when the exact number is not specified.

The form minuutteja is used to denote an indefinite or approximate amount of minutes. It commonly appears with quantifiers such as useita, muutamia, or joitakin, for example: useita minuutteja (several minutes), muutamia minuutteja (a few minutes), or kymmeniä minuutteja (tens of minutes). The construction is typical in statements about durations that are not precisely counted.

When the number is precise and given by a numeral, Finnish typically uses the partitive singular minuuttia, for example: kaksi minuuttia, viisi minuuttia, kolmetoista minuuttia. In such cases, minuutteja would not be used. The plural form minuutteja therefore signals an indefinite or non-exact quantity, rather than a counted total.

Usage considerations include common contexts like scheduling, duration descriptions, or reporting how long something lasts. Because Finnish grammar relies on case, the same noun can appear in many forms; minuutteja specifically serves as a natural choice when the speaker wants to emphasize an approximate amount of minutes rather than a definite count.

See also: minuutti, minuuttien declension, Finnish grammar.