Lokaalinen

Lokaalinen is a Finnish adjective meaning local, pertaining to a specific place or limited to a defined area. It is used to describe phenomena confined to a locality rather than global or widespread.

The term is formed from the noun lokaali with the adjectival suffix -nen. The concept aligns with the English word local and reflects the broader use of locality in science and everyday language.

In practice, lokaalinen appears across disciplines. In geography and urban planning one speaks of a lokaalinen alue to refer to the local area; in computing a lokaaliverkko denotes a local network; in mathematics and physics it describes properties, descriptions, or analyses that apply only to a restricted region.

There are related forms such as paikallinen, which is more common in everyday Finnish for “local,” and the noun lokaali, which can refer to a local venue or space. The term may be encountered in technical or formal contexts and is often contrasted with global or yleinen meanings.