kaunista

Kaunista is the partitive singular form of the Finnish adjective kaunis, meaning "beautiful." In Finnish, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe, and when the object is indefinite or non-countable and placed in the partitive case, the adjective takes the form kaunista. For example: Näen kaunista taidetta (I see beautiful art) and Rakastan kaunista maisemaa (I love the beautiful landscape). In these phrases the nouns taidetta and maisemaa are in the partitive, so the adjective is inflected as kaunista.

The base form kaunis is a native Finnish word, with related vocabulary such as kauneus (beauty). Other related derivations include kaunistaa (to beautify) and kaunistus (decoration). The form kaunista is primarily a grammatical inflection rather than a stand-alone lexical item, and it typically appears in descriptive phrases about art, nature, or experiences described in an indefinite or non-count sense. When the noun is in a definite or nominative form and not in the partitive, other adjective forms are used (for example, kaunis, kauniita, kauniita, depending on number and case).

In everyday usage, kaunista is common when speaking about things like art, scenery, or feelings in general terms, especially with mass or non-count nouns or with indefinite references. It is also encountered in poetry and prose to convey beauty in a non-specific sense.

See also: kauneus, kaunis, kaunistaa, kaunistus.