Personaalsete

Personaalsete is the genitive plural form of the Estonian adjective personaalne, meaning personal, private, or individualized. It is used to describe nouns in the genitive plural and is common in formal or technical language, including law, administration, and data-related contexts.

In Estonian, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in case, number, and gender. The genitive plural form of adjectives ending in -ne typically appears as -sete, so personaalne yields personaalsete in the genitive plural. This form is used to indicate possession, relation, or attributes of plural nouns, for example: personaalsete omaduste (of personal attributes) or personaalsete andmete (of personal data).

Common usage includes phrases such as personaalsete omaduste kirjeldus (description of personal attributes) and personaalsete andmete töötlemine (processing of personal data). The term is not a standalone noun; it functions as an adjective within noun phrases in genitive plural.

Notes on terminology: translations vary by context. In many cases, the sense of “personal” as a prefix or descriptor is conveyed by isiku- in Estonian, with isikuandmed meaning personal data. In this sense, personaalsete remains a grammatical form used to modify nouns in genitive plural, while isikuandmed serves as the standard fixated term for the legal concept of personal data.