ensisijaisen

Ensisijaisen is the genitive singular form of the Finnish adjective ensisijainen, which means primary, principal, or foremost. In Finnish, adjectives decline to agree with the noun they describe in number and case, so ensisijainen takes the form ensisijaisen in the genitive singular. The form is used when the noun it modifies is in the genitive case or when forming phrases that specify a particular level of priority.

The word appears mainly in written or formal Finnish, especially in contexts involving priorities, ordering, or importance, such as policy documents, planning discussions, or academic writing. It can be used to describe something considered the primary aspect or element, often in combination with a noun in genitive, for example ensisijaisen tärkeyden (the importance of something as primary). It may also appear in its base nominative form ensisijainen to mean “the primary …” in casual or direct statements, such as ensisijainen tehtävä (the primary task).

Because Finnish adjectives inflect for case, number, and definiteness, ensisijaisen is not a separate lexical item but a grammatical form of ensisijainen. Related forms include ensisijainen (the base form) and ensisijaisesti (an adverb meaning primarily). The term is commonly contrasted with synonyms such as tärkein or first-order concepts in discussions of priority or importance.

See also: ensisijainen, ensisijaisesti, prior.