Sairastunut

Sairastunut is a Finnish term that functions both as a past-active participle of the verb sairastua and as a noun meaning “the sick person” or “the ill.” It is formed by adding the suffix -nut to the verb stem, and it conveys that illness has occurred.

As an adjective, sairastunut describes someone who has fallen ill. As a noun, it refers to a person who is ill, commonly used in medical, administrative, or news contexts. Examples: Hän on sairastunut (He/She has fallen ill). Sairastuneet eivät voi osallistua tilaisuuteen (The ill people cannot attend the event).

Grammatical notes: like other participles used as adjectives, sairastunut inflects for number and case. Common forms include: nominative singular sairastunut; nominative plural sairastuneet; genitive singular sairastuneen; partitive singular sairastunutta; partitive plural sairastuneita; genitive plural sairastuneiden.

Etymology and related terms: sairastunut is derived from the verb sairastua, meaning “to fall ill.” Related words include sairaus (illness), sairastua (to become ill), and sairausloma (sick leave). The term emphasizes the state resulting from illness and is more clinical or formal than yleisesti used everyday terms such as sairasmies or sairaana, depending on context.

Usage and nuance: sairastunut is widely understood in Finnish and appears in media, healthcare, and formal writing. It can carry a neutral or slightly clinical tone and is less common in casual speech than simply saying someone is sick (sairas) or that they have fallen ill (on sairastunut) in context.