Kohteliaita

Kohteliaita is the plural partitive form of the Finnish adjective kohtelias, meaning “polite” or “courteous.” The corresponding noun is kohteliaisuus, which covers the concept of politeness or civility. In Finnish, adjectives inflect for number and case, and predicate adjectives with the verb olla (to be) take the partitive form when the subject is plural, producing phrases such as ovat kohteliaita (they are polite).

Kohteliaita is used to describe multiple polite people or actions when the noun it modifies is in the partitive case or the clause requires a partitive. The basic singular form is kohtelias; the plural nominative form is kohteliaat. The form kohteliaita appears with plural nouns in the partitive case, for example Näin kohteliaita ihmisiä (I saw polite people). In predicative position with olla, the plural form kohteliaita is also used: He ovat kohteliaita.

Usage notes: the adverbial form of kohtelias is kohteliaasti, meaning “in a polite manner.” Common collocations include kohtelias käytös (polite conduct) and kohteliaisuus (courtesy). Finnish does not have gender agreement in the way some languages do, but adjectives like kohtelias/kohteliaita do reflect number and case.

See also: kohteliaisuus, kohtelias, Finnish grammar, politeness forms in Finnish.