puolisko

Puolisko is a Finnish noun that primarily means half or the other half of a whole. It is used when something is divided into two equal parts or when referring to one of two complementary parts. In everyday language, puolisko can also be used in a relational sense to denote a partner or significant other, most commonly in the phrase toinen puolisko (the other half) or oma puoliskoni (my other half, my soulmate).

In calendar and time-related contexts, the notion of a half-year is more commonly expressed with puolivuosi, but puolisko may appear in informal speech or idiomatic use to indicate one half of a year or a similar division, depending on the speaker’s intent.

Etymologically, puolisko is built from the root puoli (half) and a nominalizing suffix, yielding a word that denotes a part of a whole. The term is firmly established in Finnish usage and appears in both spoken and written language, though in formal writing it is often replaced by more precise expressions like puolivuosi or toinen puoli, depending on the context.

See also: puoli, puolikas, puolivuosi, toinen puolisko, puolisot.