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FINNISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

ongelma.

problem, trouble, issue

7 characters3 syllables approx.Suomi language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈoŋːelmɑ/[ˈo̞ŋːe̞lmɑ̝]

  1. problem, trouble, issue

  2. problem, assignment

  3. puzzle

  4. cavity on a tree

    dialectal · rare
Where this word comes from

From onge- + -lma, but the root is unclear. First attested in 1860; according to Häkkinen (2004), introduced into the standard language by Finnish physician and philologist Elias Lönnrot. Proposed etymologies * From an earlier *onkelmo (“? branch, ? proverb”). Only attested in oblique cases (onkelmosta, onkelmoita) in the Kalevala. If so, perhaps related to onkalo (“pit”), dialectal ongertaa (“to dig in”). * A neologism of an unknown origin. If so, probably from onki (“fishing rod”) whence also onkia (“to fish, to find information”) and dialectal ongitella (“to find information, to pester”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.