avaimet

Avaimet is a Finnish noun meaning "the keys" and is the plural form of avain. It refers primarily to physical keys used to open locks on doors, vehicles, cabinets, and other secured objects. In everyday speech, people talk about avaimet when locating, handing over, or using keys, for example in questions like “Missä ovat avaimet?” (Where are the keys?)

Beyond physical keys, avain is also used in technology and security to denote a cryptographic or access key. In IT contexts, an avain refers to a piece of information used to encrypt, decrypt, or authorize access. Therefore, avaimet can refer to multiple encryption keys or credential tokens. This sense appears in phrases such as kryptografiset avaimet (cryptographic keys) or avainten hallinta (key management).

Finnish nouns inflect for case, and avain forms the plural avaimet in the nominative. The word therefore participates in standard Finnish grammar like other nouns, with related forms changing according to sentence structure and case. Because the term covers both physical and digital security keys, its precise meaning depends on context.