pientä

Pientä is the partitive singular form of the Finnish adjective pieni, meaning small or little. It is used to describe an indefinite or small quantity of a noun, typically with mass or uncountable nouns or when the amount is not fully specified. The form pientä signals that the reference is not a definite or complete amount.

Common contexts for pientä include expressions of quantity, requests, and descriptions where the exact size or number is not being emphasized. For example: Haluaisin pientä kahvia (I would like a little coffee), Tarjoile pientä annosta ruokaa (Please bring a small portion of food), or Tarvitsemme pientä apua (We need a little help). In these phrases, the noun that follows is in the partitive case to indicate an indefinite amount rather than a definite quantity.

Grammatically, pientä is used with nouns in the partitive case and is often associated with verbs and constructions that require the partitive for incomplete actions, negation, or non-specific quantities. It contrasts with pienet (plural nominative) for definite counts and with pienen (genitive) for possession or more specific references in some contexts.

Other related forms include pieni, pieniä (partitive plural), and pienessä, pieneen (various other cases of the adjective). The root pieni derives from Proto-Finnic vocabulary for “small,” and pientä reflects the normal inflection pattern of Finnish adjectives that modify nouns in the partitive.

See also: pieni, Finnish grammar, partitive case.