Learn Finnish: Vaikka olet yliherkkä, varalääke on turvallinen. - Even though you are hypersensitive, the backup medicine is safe.

The base word is herkkä (sensitive). The prefix yli- means over or hyper, making yliherkkä mean hypersensitive. While it often marks a negative excess (like ylipaino for overweight), it can sometimes just mean exceeding a limit, or even something positive like in ylivoimainen (overwhelmingly superior).

What exactly does the prefix vara- imply in the word varalääke?

As a prefix, vara- translates to backup, spare, or vice-. In this context, varalääke refers to a backup or alternative medication. It comes from the standalone noun vara (precaution, reserve, or means), but when attached to the front of another noun, it always designates a substitute or reserve.

English often treats medicine as an uncountable mass noun. Why is the adjective turvallinen in the nominative case instead of the partitive turvallista?

Unlike English, Finnish treats lääke as a strictly countable noun. It refers to a specific type of medication or a discrete pill. Because the subject varalääke is singular and countable, the adjective describing it must be in the nominative case (turvallinen). If the subject were an uncountable mass noun like vesi, the adjective would be in the partitive.

Why is yliherkkä written as one word rather than two words (yli herkkä)?