erilinen

Erilinen is a Finnish adjective meaning “different” or “distinct.” It is used to describe contrasts between things, people, or situations. The standard dictionary form is erilainen, while erilinen appears as a stem in inflected forms such as erilaisen (genitive) or erilaiset (plural nominative). In practice, you will encounter phrases like kaksi erilaista vaihtoehtoa (“two different options”) and erilainen kuin (“different from”). The related noun is erilaisuus, meaning “difference” or “variety,” and the adverbial form erilaisesti means “differently.”

Etymology and formation: Erilainen is built from a root associated with difference, combined with the derivational suffix -lainen to form an adjective meaning “of a kind” or “characteristic of.” It belongs to the class of Finnish -inen adjectives and follows regular inflection patterns across cases and numbers: singular nominative erilainen, genitive erilaisen, partitive erilaisesta; plural nominative erilaiset, partitive erilaisia.

Usage notes: Finnish often uses erilainen to express non-identical qualities rather than exact sameness. It frequently appears in comparisons with kuin (e.g., erilainen kuin) to indicate a difference between items or concepts. In translation, erilinen can be rendered as “different,” “distinct,” or “varied,” depending on context.

Related terms: The noun erilaisuus (“difference, variety”) and the adverbial form erilaisesti (“differently”). Synonyms or near-synonyms include erikoinen (peculiar) in some contexts, though erikoinen has a slightly different nuance.