væhemmän

Vähemmän is a Finnish quantifier and comparative form derived from the word vähän, meaning a small amount. It functions to indicate a lower quantity or degree relative to something else and is used in both adverbial and determiner-like roles. In typical usage, vähemmän expresses “less” or “fewer” in a concrete or abstract sense.

Grammatical use and construction: Vähemmän is commonly used with nouns in the partitive case to indicate a smaller amount, for example vähemmän rahaa (less money), vähemmän vettä (less water), or vähemmän aikaa (less time). It can also follow a comparative construction with kuin to form direct comparisons, as in enemmän kuin ennen, mutta vähemmän kuin aiemmin (less than before). In verb phrases, vähemmän often functions as an adverb meaning “to a lesser extent,” as in syödä vähemmän (eat less) or käyttää vähemmän energiaa (use less energy).

Nuances: Vähemmän is the standard comparative form of sekä amount that exists in partitive usage and numerical contexts. It contrasts with vähempi, which is a less common adjectival form used in some contexts to modify nouns, though vähemmän is far more widespread in everyday language. The term can also appear in idiomatic phrases such as vähemmän kuin koskaan (less than ever) to express a strong reduction.

Related terms: Vähän (a little), vähempi (a less common adjective form), väittäen vähemmän (in phrases indicating reduced extent). Vähemmän is a versatile word in Finnish for expressing reductions in quantity, degree, or frequency across many domains.

See also: Finnish grammar on partitive usage, comparative constructions with kuin, and the word vähäinen for related meaning.