Kirjallisena

Kirjallisena is the essive form of the Finnish adjective kirjallinen, meaning written or literary. In Finnish grammar the essive expresses a temporary state or role, and kirjallisena is used to indicate that something exists in written form or in a written, literary sense. The form is typically used to describe things rather than people.

Common uses include indicating that information is presented in writing, for example in documents, contracts, or reports, or describing a state of form or presentation as written rather than oral. It can also convey a sense of being in a literary or written mode, though it does not refer to a person’s occupation or identity. The adverbial counterpart is kirjallisesti, which describes manner or approach.

Examples:

- Päätös toimitettiin kirjallisena. (The decision was delivered in written form.)

- Sopimus on laadittu kirjallisena muotona. (The contract is prepared in a written form.)

- Hän vastasi kirjallisesti. (He answered in writing.)

Related forms and terms include kirjallinen (the base adjective meaning written or literary), kirjallisuus (literature, the body of written works), and kirjallisesti (adverb meaning in writing or in a literary manner). The essive form kirjallisena is part of Finnish grammatical patterns for describing states or roles, and it commonly appears in formal or official contexts where written form is emphasized.

Etymology traces kirjallinen to kirja (book) with the adjectival suffix -llinen, and its essive form kirjallisena to the standard essive construction for adjectives.