ei se mitään
The English phrase "no problem" can be expressed in Finnish as ei se mitään.
ei se mitään is used to dismiss an apology or to indicate that a mistake or inconvenience was not significant.
Meaning: no apology is necessary (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "it is nothing".
How does it change in a sentence?
The word mitään is the partitive form of mikään (nothing), used here in a negative construction.
Did you know?
- In Finnish culture, ei se mitään is often used even when the mistake actually was a problem, as a way to maintain social harmony and avoid making the other person feel guilty.
- Although the Swedish word ej means 'not' and looks like the Finnish ei, they are false cognates. They developed independently and have no linguistic relationship.
- If a Finn says ei se mitään with a rising intonation, they might actually be questioning why the mistake happened, turning the 'no problem' into a subtle prompt for an explanation.
Examples in context
- Olen pahoillani. Ei se mitään.I'm sorry. No problem.This example shows how to use ei se mitään to respond to an apology.
- Ei haittaa, selviän itse. Kiitos paljon!No problem, I can manage myself. Thank you very much!
- Eipä kestä, olihan se pieni juttu.You're welcome, it was just a small thing.
- Ei se mitään, se oli vain pieni virhe.No problem, it was just a small mistake.
- Ei se mitään, älä huoli.No problem, don't worry.
Example conversation
Mikko accidentally bumped into Anna in a hallway.
- AnnaAnteeksi, tulin vahingossa vastaan.Sorry, I bumped into you by accident.
- MikkoEi se mitään, Anna.No problem, Anna.
- AnnaOletko varma?Are you sure?
- MikkoJoo, ei se haittaa.Yeah, it doesn't matter.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ei se mitään, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ei, ei se mitään, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
