pelkkä

Pelkkä is a Finnish adjective meaning mere or only. It is used to emphasize that something is limited to what is named, implying that nothing more is involved. Common translations include “the mere …” or “just …,” as in pelkkä totuus (the mere truth) or pelkkä vitsi (just a joke).

Usage and nuance: Pelkkä typically precedes the noun it modifies and agrees with it in number and case, like other Finnish adjectives. In nominative singular it is pelkkä; in genitive it becomes pelkän, in partitive pelkkää. In plural it takes pelkät and follows the same case inflections as the noun, e.g., pelkät totuudet (the mere truths). It can also appear in predicative position: Se on pelkkä harha (It is a mere illusion). While vain is a common synonym, pelkkä often conveys a stronger sense of limitation or bare fact.

Examples: Pelkkä totuus paljastui. It was the mere truth revealed. Se on pelkkä vitsi. It is just a joke. Oleskelin pelkällä rahalla. I stayed with only money? This illustrates how pelkän, pelkkää, or pelkällä can appear with different cases to express limited scope.

Notes: Pelkkä is standard Finnish and widely used in both spoken and written language. It carries a slightly formal or literary nuance compared with synonyms like vain or ainoastaan, and it foregrounds the限定 scope of what is being described.