Suojeltua

Suojeltua is a Finnish grammatical form meaning "protected" and functions as the partitive singular form of the past passive participle suojeltu, which comes from the verb suojella (to protect). It is not a standalone noun; rather, it is an adjective-like form that describes something that has protection status. In Finnish, the participle agrees with the noun it modifies, so suojeltua appears in the partitive case when the noun is in that case or when the object is indefinite.

The form arises when describing objects or phenomena that are under protection, for example in nature conservation, cultural heritage, or safety and legal protections. Common contexts include protected natural areas, endangered species, or protected buildings and sites. In different grammatical cases or plural, other forms of the participle are used, such as suojeltu (nominative/affirmative), suojellun (genitive), or suojeltuja (plural).

Usage examples illustrate its function. For instance, Alueella on suojeltua luontoa means “There is protected nature in the area.” In discussing heritage, kohteet may be described with related forms, and in broader language suojeltua can appear in phrases addressing protection status and related obligations under conservation practice.

Etymologically, suojeltua derives from suojella plus the past participle suffix, with the partitive ending -a/-ä marking indefiniteness or ongoing relevance within a sentence. The base participle suojeltu is widely used in everyday Finnish to describe something that has already received protection.

See also: suojelu, suojeltu, suojelulainsäädäntö.