mitättömiä

Mitättömiä is a Finnish adjective form meaning “insignificant” or “negligible.” It is used to describe plural nouns in the partitive case, for example mitättömiä asioita (“negligible things”), mitättömiä yksityiskohtia (“trivial details”), or mitättömiä poikkeamia (“insignificant deviations”). In everyday language the word downplays importance and can carry a mildly dismissive tone.

Grammar and semantics: Mitättömiä is the plural partitive form of the adjective mitättömä (and, in some contexts, mitätön). The word belongs to Finnish adjectives that express a negative assessment of importance. By contrast, its positive counterpart is merkittävä (significant). The sense is not an absolute negation but a statement that something has little or no practical impact.

Usage notes and nuances: The term is common in descriptive writing, journalism, and conversational Finnish when a speaker wants to minimize importance without making a strong judgment. It is less common in highly formal or legal language, where more precise terms such as vähean, epäolennainen, or merkityksetön may be preferred.

See also: Related terms include mitättömyys (insignificance) and mitätöinti (to invalidate).