Muunlaisissa

Muunlaisissa is a Finnish grammatical form used to describe something as belonging to “other kinds” or “other sorts.” It is the inessive plural form of the adjective-noun compound muunlainen, meaning “of another kind.” In Finnish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and case, so muunlaisissa accompanies plural nouns in the inessive case, yielding a phrase that roughly translates to “in other kinds of …”

Formation and function

The base word muunlainen comes from muu, meaning “other,” combined with the suffix -lainen, which forms adjectives indicating a type or kind. The inessive plural ending -issa/-issä is added to the whole adjective-noun phrase, producing muunlaisissa. This form does not stand alone; it modifies a following plural noun in the inessive case, as in muunlaisissa oloissa (in other kinds of conditions) or muunlaisissa kulttuureissa (in other kinds of cultures).

Usage notes

Muunlaisissa is commonly used to contrast categories or contexts. It appears in written and spoken Finnish when a speaker wants to emphasize diversity among kinds or types, rather than the usual or default cases.

Examples

- Muunlaisissa oloissa operatiivinen suunnitelma voi olla erilainen. (In other kinds of conditions, the operational plan may differ.)

- Tutkimus tarkastelee muunlaisissa kulttuureissa esiintyvää käytäntöä. (The study examines practices found in other kinds of cultures.)

See also

muunlainen, muunnainen, Finnish grammar, inessive case.