Breakdown of Epärehellinen todistaja on täysin epäluotettava.
olla
to be
todistaja
witness
täysin
completely
epäluotettava
unreliable
Questions & Answers about Epärehellinen todistaja on täysin epäluotettava.
How does the prefix epä- change the meaning of rehellinen and luotettava?
The prefix epä- works just like "un-", "in-", or "dis-" in English. It creates the direct opposite (antonym) of an adjective or noun. Here, rehellinen (honest) becomes epärehellinen (dishonest), and luotettava (reliable) becomes epäluotettava (unreliable).
What is the root word behind epäluotettava?
If we remove the negative prefix epä-, we get luotettava (reliable/trustworthy). This is derived from the verb luottaa (to trust), combined with the passive participle ending -ttava (which describes something that "can be trusted").
Why use täysin here instead of the basic adjective täysi?
Täysi is an adjective meaning "full". Because we want to say "completely" or "fully" to describe another adjective (epäluotettava), we need the adverb form. In Finnish, adverbs are often formed by adding an -n to the adjective stem, turning täysi into täysin.
How is the noun todistaja (witness) formed?
It comes from the verb todistaa (to prove or to testify). By adding the suffix -ja (which acts like "-er" in English to show who is doing the action), it becomes todistaja: the person who testifies, or the witness.