Suuntaiset

Suuntaiset is a Finnish adjective meaning “directional” or “oriented.” It is the plural form of suuntainen, used to describe multiple nouns that have a direction, orientation, or directional bias. The singular form is suuntainen, and the adverbial form is suuntaisesti. The root is suunta, meaning “direction,” combined with the common adjectival suffix -inen.

Usage: The term is common in technical and scientific Finnish. It describes properties that depend on direction or orientation rather than being uniform or isotropic. It is used with nouns such as muodot (forms), signaalit (signals), kuvioita (patterns), mittaukset (measurements), and leviämismallit (spread models). For example, suuntaiset muodot refers to directional forms; suuntaiset signaalit to signals with directional bias; suuntaiset kuviot to directional patterns. In scientific Finnish, suuntaiset is often contrasted with isotrooppiset (isotropic) to indicate a directional bias.

Etymology and related forms: The word is derived from suunta “direction” with the adjectival suffix -inen. The corresponding adverb is suuntaisesti, used to describe the manner in which something occurs or is measured.

See also: suunta, suuntaus, isotrooppinen.