kirjaimellisella

Kirjaimellisella is the adessive singular form of the Finnish adjective kirjaimellinen, meaning literal or letter-by-letter. It is used to describe things that adhere to the exact words or letters rather than to figurative meaning. In practice, kirjaimellisella appears most often as part of phrases such as kirjaimellisella tavalla (“in a literal way”) or kirjaimellisella tulkinnalla (“in a literal interpretation”).

Finnish distinguishes literal and figurative meaning through several expressions. The standard adverb for literal interpretation is kirjaimellisesti, used to modify verbs: Teksti on kirjoitettu kirjaimellisesti sanasta sanaan. The adjective kirjaimellinen and its inflected forms, including kirjaimellista, kirjaimellisen, or kirjaimellisella, are used to describe nouns or to set the frame for interpretation, as in kirjaimellinen tulkinta or kirjaimellinen periaate. This usage contrasts with kuvainnollinen (figurative) or sananmukainen (word-for-word).

Etymology and usage notes: kirjaimellinen derives from kirjaim(e)in meaning letter, with the suffix -ellinen indicating “having the character of.” The form kirjaimellisella occurs when the adjective modifies a noun in the adessive case, often appearing with a following word that specifies manner, such as tavalla or tulkinnalla. In everyday language, kirjaimellisesti is more common for directly modifying verbs, while kirjaimellisella appears in compound phrases describing manner or basis of interpretation. See also sananmukainen and kuvainnollinen for related semantic contrasts.