Tuollainen

Tuollainen is a Finnish demonstrative word used as a determiner or pronoun meaning “such” or “that kind of.” It is formed from the demonstrative tuo, meaning “that,” combined with the suffix -lainen, which creates adjectives indicating a kind or type. It is closely related to other demonstratives such as tällainen (this kind) and sellainen (such a), which express varying degrees of distance or familiarity in discourse.

Usage and meaning

Tuollainen precedes a noun to describe something of a particular kind, often not physically present or being referred to in the current context. For example: “Tuollainen auto maksaa paljon” (That kind of car costs a lot). It can also function as a pronoun in phrases like “Tuollainen ei sovi” (That kind of thing doesn’t fit) without an explicit noun.

Grammar

Tuollainen is declined like a standard Finnish adjective, agreeing with the noun in number and case. Common forms include nominative singular tuollainen, genitive singular tuollaisen, and partitive plural tuollaisia, among others. Its use follows the typical rules of Finnish agreement and inflection.

Nuance and distance

Finnish demonstratives encode distance and familiarity. Tällainen refers to things perceived as close or in the speaker’s hands, tuollainen to things not physically present or more distant, and sellainen to a general or unspecified kind. Tuollainen thus signals a sense of contrast with nearer (tällainen) or more general (sellainen) references.

See also

tällainen, sellainen, tuo, Finnish demonstratives, Finnish grammar.