töitä

Töitä is the partitive plural form of the Finnish noun työ, meaning work or jobs. In Finnish, töitä refers to work in a non-countable or indefinite sense, such as tasks to be done, the overall concept of work, or the amount of work rather than to individual, countable jobs.

Morphology and usage notes

The basic nominative plural of työ is työt. Töitä is used in contexts where the amount of work is being described rather than counting specific jobs. It commonly appears with verbs that express existence or activity, such as minulla on töitä (I have work), en ole saanut töitä (I haven’t found work), or teimme töitä koko yön (we worked all night). Expressions like paljon töitä (a lot of work) or vähän töitä (a little work) also use the partitive form. In negative sentences and questions about availability of work, töitä is standard.

Meaning and scope

Töitä can refer to paid employment, general labor tasks, or any work-related activity. It can denote the workload someone has, the tasks assigned, or the idea of working in general. The word is versatile in everyday Finnish and appears in workplace language as well as casual speech.

Related forms and synonyms

Työ is the base form meaning work or job in a concrete sense. Työt (nominative plural) typically refers to discrete jobs or tasks, whereas töitä emphasizes quantity, ongoing activity, or an indefinite amount of work. The term is common across Finnish-speaking regions and appears in many common expressions about employment and labor.