terveä

Terveää is the partitive singular form of the Finnish adjective terve, meaning healthy, sound, or in good health. It appears mainly when the noun it modifies is indefinite or when the phrase expresses an amount or extent rather than a definite count. In everyday Finnish, terveää is commonly used to describe the healthiness of foods and drinks in phrases such as terveää ruokaa or terveää juomaa.

The word is often contrasted with the related adjective terveellinen, which more explicitly conveys a health-promoting or wholesome quality. Terveellinen is frequently used for broader or normative statements, for example terveellinen ruokavalio (a healthy diet). The distinction between terveää and terveellinen can be subtle and depends on context: terveää emphasizes the healthiness of a substance as a characteristic of an indefinite quantity, while terveellinen highlights the overall healthfulness of a product or practice.

Etymology and morphology: terve derives from Proto-Finnic roots related to health and well-being. In modern Finnish, adjectives inflect to agree with the noun in case and number; terve has forms that include the partitive singular terveää in appropriate contexts.

See also: health, Finnish language, grammar of Finnish adjectives.