pienoinen

Pienoinen is a Finnish adjective meaning smallish or minor, used to describe objects, amounts, or phenomena that are small in size or degree. It often carries a slightly more formal or literary nuance than the plain adjective pieni, signaling that the thing in question is not large but still noticeable.

Etymology and form: Pienoinen is formed from the root pieni meaning "small" with the derivational suffix -inen, which is typical in Finnish to create adjectives describing quality or character. The word inflects like a standard Finnish adjective, agreeing in number and case with the noun it modifies (for example, pienoinen virhe, pienoisen virheen, pienoiset virheet).

Usage: The term is most common in written Finnish, especially in literary, journalistic, or formal contexts. It can function attributively before a noun (pienoinen lisä) or predicatively (virhe on pienoinen). The nuance is that the thing is small or minor, but not negligible, and the adjective can convey a sense of mild emphasis rather than a sharp contrast to what is larger or more significant.

Examples:

- Pienoinen virhe on korjattavissa ilman suurempaa vaivaa.

- Hän huomasi pienoinen viive lähteessä.

See also:

- Pieni, the base form meaning "small."

- Finnish adjectives and the -inen suffix used to form descriptive words.

Pienoinen is a recognizable part of standard Finnish vocabulary and is appropriate in narrations and formal writing when the speaker wishes to stress a modest degree of smallness or minor significance without using a more approximate word like “hieman.”