This is the 999th most frequent Finnish word.
ensimmäiset
"Ensimmäiset" means "the first ones" in English.
The word 'ensimmäiset' is used as an ordinal describing the noun 'askeleet' (steps), indicating their position as the very beginning or the first ones.
Ensimmäiset askeleet ovat usein haparoivia.
The first steps are often tentative.
Here, 'ensimmäiset' qualifies 'omenat' (apples), specifying those which were picked earliest in order.
Poimimme ensimmäiset omenat puutarhasta.
We picked the first apples from the garden.
In this sentence, 'ensimmäiset' refers to a time span, emphasizing the initial segment of the whole duration.