Questions & Answers about Tämä on pikku ongelma.
Why does the sentence use pikku instead of pieni for "little"?
Both words mean "little" or "small," but they are used slightly differently. Pieni is the standard adjective for physical size, while pikku is often used for abstract things (like a problem), affectionate terms, or to casually downplay something. It gives a slightly more conversational feel here than pieni ongelma would.
Since adjectives usually have to match their noun in Finnish, how does pikku behave if we change the case?
Pikku is a special exception: it is an indeclinable adjective. This means it never changes its form, no matter what case or number the noun is in. For example, "about a little problem" is pikku ongelmasta (elative case), and "little problems" is pikku ongelmia (plural partitive). Notice how only ongelma takes the case endings!
I sometimes see words like this written together. Could this be written as pikkuongelma?
Yes! Pikku is very frequently used as the first part of a compound word. Writing it as pikkuongelma (one word) is completely correct and very common. Some highly established terms must always be written as one word, like pikkusisko (little sister) or pikkulintu (little bird).
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