Ennaltaarvattava

Ennaltaarvattava is a Finnish adjective used to describe something whose outcomes or consequences can be reasonably predicted in advance. It is often applied in formal or analytical contexts to distinguish between foreseeable effects and uncertain or unpredictable ones.

The term is common in risk assessment, law, and policy writing. Referred to as ennaltaarvattavat vaikutukset or ennaltaarvattavat kustannukset, it denotes effects that a responsible party could anticipate and therefore should address in planning, budgeting, or liability considerations. The concept helps structure discussions of responsibility, mitigation, and compensation by focusing on what could be reasonably foreseen.

Etymologically, the word combines ennalta, meaning in advance, with arvattava, from arvata meaning to guess or estimate. Together they convey the sense of something that can be guessed or estimated beforehand. In practice, ennaltaarvattava is sometimes written with a hyphen as ennalta-arvattava, though the unhyphenated form is also encountered.

Usage notes emphasize that ennaltaarvattava is a formal term and not part of everyday colloquial Finnish. It is most likely to appear in legal texts, risk analyses, environmental impact assessments, and similar documents where precision about foreseeability matters. Related concepts in Finnish include ennakoiva, meaning proactive or anticipatory, and riskienhallinta, risk management.

See also: foreseeable, precursory analyses, liability and duty of care concepts in Finnish law.