18vuotiailta

18vuotiailta is a Finnish phrase meaning “from 18-year-olds.” It is the elative plural form of the compound adjective 18-vuotias (an 18-year-old) and is used to indicate the source of information, opinions, or data coming from that group.

In Finnish grammar, the base term 18-vuotias combines the number 18 with the noun oikeaikäisen vastineen, yielding the plural nominative 18-vuotiaat. The elative plural, which expresses “from,” ends in -ilta/-iltä, giving 18-vuotiailta. The standard orthography in formal writing is 18-vuotiailta; the hyphen between the number and the base word is conventional when forming the compound adjective, and the elative suffix attaches to the plural stem.

Usage is common in journalism, research, and surveys to attribute information to a specific age group. Examples include: “Kyselyn tulokset 18-vuotiailta kerätyn aineiston perusteella…” (The poll results are based on data collected from 18-year-olds) or “18-vuotiailta saatu tieto” (information obtained from 18-year-olds). The phrase can also appear in phrases like “18-vuotiailta kerätty data” or “18-vuotiailta saatu vastaus.”

Orthographic note: in formal Finnish, write 18-vuotiailta with a hyphen and the elative suffix. In casual digital text, some writers may omit diacritics or hyphens and encounter forms like 18vuotiailta, but 18-vuotiailta is the recommended standard.

See also: 18-vuotias, elatiivi (elative), Finnish numeral-noun compounds.