Käänteellinen

Käänteellinen is a Finnish adjective meaning inverse, reversed, or opposite. It is formed from the verb kääntää (“to turn”) with the suffix -ellinen, and it is used to describe a transformation, relationship, or state that is the flip side of another. The term is common in scientific, technical, and everyday language when a process or relation is understood as the reverse of something else.

In mathematics and logic, käänteinen or käänteellinen often refers to the inverse relationship. For example, a käänteinen funktio (inverse function) undoes the mapping of another function, so that applying the two in sequence returns the original input. The reciprocal of a number is typically called a käänteisluku. The concept also appears in computer science and physics to denote reverse operations, such as a käänteinen prosessi or käänteinen operaatio.

In linguistics and grammar, käänteellinen sanajärjestys describes inverted word order, where elements such as the predicate may appear before the subject for emphasis or stylistic effect. The term is also used more broadly to indicate any situation where a relationship or outcome is the reverse of what is expected or usual.

Related terms include vastakkainen and päinvastainen, which convey opposite or contradictory ideas, though käänteellinen specifically emphasizes a turning or flipping operation. The word is widely used in Finnish technical writing as a precise way to express inversion, reversal, or reciprocal relationships.