Focusing Core Ideas: "Se, mitä"
To emphasize a core idea and strip away the clutter, Finnish uses a focus structure that translates to the English "What [X] is [Y]".
This structure combines the demonstrative pronoun se (it/that), a comma, a relative pronoun like mitä (what), and the relative clause. The main verb (usually on) then introduces the focused information. Use the partitive relative pronoun mitä when the verb inside the relative clause takes a partitive object.
| What minimalism teaches is interesting. | Se, mitä minimalismi opettaa, on kiinnostavaa. |
| What you own is not important. | Se, mitä omistat, ei ole tärkeää. |
This pattern is incredibly useful when identifying exactly what you need to eliminate (karsia) or clear out (raivata).
| What we must eliminate is noise. | Se, mitä meidän täytyy karsia, on melu. |
| What I am clearing is space for new ideas. | Se, mitä raivaan, on tila uusille ideoille. |
Focusing on Subjects: "Se, mikä"
If the "what" in your sentence acts as the subject of the relative clause rather than the object, the relative pronoun must be in the nominative case: mikä.
| What is essential brings joy. | Se, mikä on olennaista, tuo iloa. |
| What scares many is complete emptiness. | Se, mikä pelottaa monia, on täydellinen tyhjyys. |
Matching Grammatical Rules: "Se, mistä"
The relative pronoun must adapt to the grammatical case required by the specific verb or adjective inside the relative clause.
For example, verbs like luopua (to give up) and adjectives like tietoinen (conscious) require the elative case (-sta/-stä). To follow this rule, the relative pronoun becomes mistä.
| What I want to give up is useless junk. | Se, mistä haluan luopua, on turha roina. |
| What we are aware of changes us. | Se, mistä olemme tietoisia, muuttaa meitä. |