Käsitteellisinä

Käsitteellisinä is the plural essive form of the Finnish adjective käsitteellinen, meaning conceptual or relating to concepts. In Finnish grammar the essive case expresses a temporary state or role, roughly equivalent to "as" or "in the role of." Thus käsitteellisinä is used when referring to multiple entities described as being in a conceptual sense or existing as conceptual constructs.

Usage and context

The form is common in scholarly and analytical writing, particularly in philosophy, sociology, linguistics, and theory-driven disciplines. It is used to frame elements as theoretical or conceptual rather than empirical. Käsitteellisinä functions as an attribute in the essive plural and typically accompanies plural nouns. Typical phrasing includes combinations such as käsitteellisinä malleina (as conceptual models) or käsitteellisinä lähtökohtina (as conceptual starting points).

Examples

Tutkimuksen tulokset esitettiin käsitteellisinä lähtökohtina. Käsitteellisinä malleina ne tarjoavat teoreettisen viitekehyksen ilmiön tarkasteluun.

Notes

Käsitteellisinä is relatively specialized and may be uncommon in everyday language. It conveys a theoretical or abstract stance, contrasting with empirical or practical framing. Related forms include käsitteellinen (conceptual) and its other case and number inflections.