kirjavat

Kirjavat is a Finnish word that functions as the plural nominative form of the adjective kirjava, meaning colorful, variegated, or patterned. As an adjective, kirjavat modifies plural nouns and is used to describe things that have multiple colors or diverse patterns.

Common contexts for kirjavat describe visuals and design. Examples include kirjavat kuosit (colorful patterns) and kirjavat kankaat (colorful fabrics). In nature and art, one might speak of kirjavat kukat (colorful flowers) or kirjavat maisemat (variegated landscapes), where the term emphasizes variety rather than a single hue.

Grammatically, kirjava is the base form, and adjectives in Finnish decline for number and case. Therefore, kirjavat appears in the nominative plural, while other forms include kirjavien (genitive plural) and kirjavia (partitive plural), depending on the syntactic role of the noun in the sentence.

In broader usage, kirjava and its inflected forms convey a sense of visual richness or diversity. Related terms include the base kirjava, monivärinen (multicolored), and kirjavaisuus (the quality of being variegated). The word is common in discussions of textiles, fashion, interior design, and natural descriptions where varied coloration is a defining feature.