Onnettomuuksina

Onnettomuuksina is a Finnish word form used to express the idea “as accidents” or “in the role of accidents.” It is the plural essive form of the noun onnettomuus (accident). The essive case marks a temporary state or role, roughly equivalent to the English word “as,” and the plural form is used when referring to multiple events classified as accidents.

In usage, onnettomuuksina typically appears in formal writing, such as incident analyses, risk assessments, or legal and administrative language, rather than in everyday speech. The form often follows verbs of perception, judgment, or classification, for example: Tilanteet tulkittiin onnettomuuksina, meaning “The situations were interpreted as accidents.” It can also occur in phrases such as Onnettomuuksina pidettävät tapaukset, meaning “cases regarded as accidents.”

Distinguishing it from onnettomuuksiksi, the translative form meaning “into accidents,” is a matter of nuance. Onnettomuuksiksi signals a transition into the state of being accidents, whereas onnettomuuksina indicates the state or role of being accidents in a classificatory sense.

Formation note: the essive suffix in singular is -na/-nä, while the plural essive takes -ina/-inä, yielding onnettomuuksina in standard Finnish. This is a routine part of Finnish nominal inflection and is used to describe classifications or roles in a non-permanent sense.