arvattavan

Arvattavan is a Finnish linguistic term referring to the form arvattava used as an adjective or participle meaning “that can be guessed” or “guessable.” It is derived from the verb arvata, which means to guess or to estimate, and it uses the inflectional suffix -ttava to form a present passive participle that functions as an adjective.

Etymology and grammar: The base is the verb arvata, and the participial suffix -ttava yields arvattava, which describes something that can be guessed or inferred. In Finnish, participles and derived adjectives are declined like other adjectives, and the word arvattavan appears in contexts such as the genitive singular in noun phrases (for example, arvattavan ratkaisun, “of the guessable solution”). The motivator of the form is capability or potential, similar to how English uses “guessable” or “able to be guessed.”

Usage: Arvattavan is used to modify nouns in attributive position, and the related form arvattava can appear in predicate positions as a complement. It is common in linguistic or theoretical discussions to describe problems, statements, or outcomes as arvattava, indicating that they can be guessed, estimated, or inferred to some degree.

Examples:

- Arvattavan ratkaisun löytäminen vie aikaa. (Finding a guessable/estimable solution takes time.)

- Tämä on arvattava väite, mutta tarkkuus riippuu kontekstista. (This is a guessable claim, but the precision depends on the context.)

See also: Finnish grammar, participles, -ttava suffix, arvata.

Note: Arvattavan as a term is chiefly a grammatical description; it is not a widely used everyday label, but rather a technical form encountered in discussions of Finnish morphology and usage.