väärä

Väärä is a Finnish adjective meaning “wrong” or “false.” It is used to describe statements, beliefs, actions, or things that do not correspond to truth, accuracy, or expected standards. As with other Finnish adjectives, väärä inflects to agree with the noun it modifies, so its form changes according to number and case in ordinary sentences. In predicative use, common examples include Tämä väite on väärä. Tämä tieto on väärä, illustrating how it describes a subject after the verb olla (to be).

Väärää or vääriä are used when the word is in partitive or in plural contexts, respectively, as Finnish grammar requires. It also has an adverbial form, väärin, meaning “incorrectly” or “wrongly,” as in Hän teki sen väärin.

Common collocations include väärä väite (a false claim), väärä tulkinta (a misinterpretation), and väärä tieto (false information). The term contrasts with oikea (right/correct) and can be strengthened by qualifiers such as täysin väärä (completely wrong) or hyvin väärä (very wrong) in idiomatic use, depending on the degree of perceived incorrectness.

Etymology and related forms: väärä is a native Finnish word. Its precise historical development is not always documented in simple references, but it belongs to the general Finnic vocabulary with cognates in related languages. Related terms include virheellinen (erroneous) and totuudenmukainen (truthful), which are used in more formal or nuanced descriptions of accuracy.

In translation, väärä is commonly rendered as “wrong” or “false,” while the adverbial form väärin translates to “wrongly” or “incorrectly.” It is a standard part of everyday Finnish when discussing accuracy, interpretation, or behavior.