väliä

Väliä is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun väli, which denotes a space, gap, or interval between two things, or a moment in time. The word is also used figuratively to refer to importance or significance in certain constructions, such as what difference something makes.

In everyday language väliä appears in idiomatic expressions that contrast concrete space with abstract importance. The phrase mit ä väliä? or mitä väliä tässä on? literally asks what difference there is, and it is commonly used with negative constructions to downplay relevance. A widely used form is ei ole/ei ole väliä, meaning “it doesn’t matter.” Other examples include väliä tässä on and mikä väliä sillä on, which convey the idea of asking or stating whether something matters.

Grammatically, väliä functions as a noun in the partitive case, which is typical when the object is indefinite, generic, or in negations and certain fixed expressions. The base word väli can combine with other morphemes to form compound nouns such as aikaväli (time interval) or etäisyysväli in descriptive contexts, where väli remains the root concept of distance or separation.

Etymology and related forms: väli comes from theFinnic roots shared across related languages, with cognates such as Estonian vahe meaning “gap” or “interval.” The partitive form väliä reflects standard Finnish inflection for nouns ending with the stem vowel and consonant patterns of väli.

See also: väli, aikaväli, välimatka, välinen.