Televisiossa

Televisiossa is a Finnish word formed as inessive case of the noun televisio, meaning television. In ordinary use it functions to indicate that something is on or shown through the medium of television. The term is common in written Finnish and in more formal contexts.

Etymology and grammar: televisio is a loanword from Latin and English roots related to the sense of vision or seeing over a distance. The suffix -ssa marks the inessive case in Finnish, which expresses location or medium equivalent to “in/on” in English. Thus televisiossa literally means “in/on the television,” but is used idiomatically to mean “on TV” or “on television.”

Usage and nuance: Televisiossa is typically used to refer to broadcasts, programs, or appearances that are available through television. It can describe when a program is aired, for example, “Uutiset esitetään televisiossa klo 19” (The news is broadcast on television at 7 p.m.). It can also indicate that someone appears on television, as in “puhuja on televisiossa kertomassa uutisia.” In contemporary Finnish, speakers also use TV- or TV:ssä as a shorthand for the same idea in more colloquial contexts, but televisiossa remains standard in formal writing.

Related terms: The noun televisio refers to the device or the medium of television itself, while television programs or broadcasts may be described with phrases such as ohjelma televisiossa or ohjelma televisiossa esitetään. The concept has broadened in practice with streaming and online video, though televisiossa continues to be used for traditional broadcast contexts.