Sävyinen

Sävyinen is a Finnish adjective meaning having a certain hue or shade; it describes something that shows a particular color tone or tint. The term is commonly used to talk about colors, lighting, fabrics, paint, and photographs, but can also describe the mood or atmosphere in a broader sense.

The word is formed from the noun sävy “hue, shade, tone” with the common adjective suffix -inen, resulting in sävyinen meaning “having the quality of a hue.” Like other Finnish adjectives, sävyinen declines to agree with the noun in number and case.

Examples include vaalean sävyinen väri (a light-toned color), tumman sävyinen kuva (a dark-toned photo), and sinisävyinen verho (a blue-hued curtain). The compound form sinisävyinen is widely used to denote a blue-tinted shade, while punaisen sävyinen väri means “a color with a red hue.”

Sävyinen can also be used metaphorically to describe tone or mood, for instance in discussions of art, literature, or conversations, where it denotes the overall character or atmosphere rather than a specific color.

See also, sävy, väri, värisävyt, and other color-related terms in Finnish.