Approximate Quantities: Reilut and Vajaat
To say "a good [amount]" (slightly over) or "just under [amount]", Finnish uses two specific adjectives:
- reilu (fair / generous)
- vajaa (short / incomplete)
When used with measurements, these adjectives take a special grammatical structure: the adjective must be in the plural (reilut, vajaat), but the numeral that follows it remains singular.
For example, "just under five" is vajaat viisi (not vajaa viisi or vajaat viidet).
| There is just under five millilitres of the new solution in the glass. | Lasissa on vajaat viisi millilitraa uutta liuosta. |
Similarly, "a good ten" is reilut kymmenen.
| We have brought a good ten grams of reagent to the laboratory. | Olemme tuoneet laboratorioon reilut kymmenen grammaa reagenssia. |
Working with Approximations
These approximations are useful for describing processes like evaporation or when measuring out liquids. Just remember the plural adjective + singular numeral rule.
| Take just under two millilitres of this dangerous reagent with the pipette. | Ota pipetillä vajaat kaksi millilitraa tätä vaarallista reagenssia. |
| A good four percent of the solution evaporated at night. | Liuoksesta haihtui yöllä reilut neljä prosenttia. |
Exact Precision
Of course, approximations aren't always enough. When a calculation requires perfection, absolute precision is required.
| This is the laboratory's most difficult calculation, because the measurement requires perfect precision. | Tämä on laboratorion vaikein laskelma, koska mittaus vaatii täydellistä tarkkuutta. |
| The precision will certainly suffer if just under three grams of reagent evaporates. | Tarkkuus kärsii varmasti, jos reagenssia haihtuu vajaat kolme grammaa. |
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