salaisuutta

Salaisuutta is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun salaisuus, meaning a secret or something kept hidden. The concept refers to information or knowledge that is not publicly known and is kept private, confidential, or undisclosed. Salaisuutta can denote a personal secret as well as confidential information in business, medicine, or public administration, and also state or organizational secrets.

The noun salaisuus is formed from the adjective salainen (secret) with the abstract noun suffix -uus, a common pattern in Finnish for creating nouns that denote a state or quality. The basic form is salaisuus; in sentences the form salaisuutta appears in the partitive singular, which is used after verbs or expressions that require the partitive.

In usage, salaisuutta often appears in contexts such as paljastaa salaisuutta (to reveal a secret), pitää salaisuutena (to keep something secret), and describe information that is intentionally kept from others. In legal and policy language Finnish often uses related terms such as salassapito (confidentiality), salassapitovelvollisuus (duty of confidentiality), and valtion salaisuudet (state secrets). The term can describe both personal matters and information that is restricted for security, commercial, or ethical reasons.

See also: salassapito, salassapitosopimus, salaisuus, valtion salaisuudet, luottamukselliset tiedot.