lähetteeseen

Lähete is a Finnish noun used chiefly in official or administrative language to refer to a document or set of documents that accompanies a main submission or package. It can denote a covering letter, a forwarding note, or a short description of what is being sent. In practice, lähete often appears in formal correspondence and in filing to indicate the documents sent together with a form or application. The plural forms lähetteet, and the genitive lähetteen, are common in bureaucratic texts.

Lähete is etymologically linked to the verb lähettää, meaning to send. The term emphasizes the accompanying nature of the documents or the bundle that goes with a submission. The illative form läheteeseen is used to express movement toward, inclusion within, or placement into the package, as in phrases referring to what is contained in or added to the lähete.

In usage, lähete is related to but distinct from liite. Liite usually refers to an attachment that accompanies a document, often in digital or printed form. Lähete, by contrast, can refer to the broader concept of the accompanying documents or the forwarding note itself, and may describe the entire set of documents being submitted rather than a single attached file.

Examples of context include government and civil services, where a form is submitted with a lähete listing the included documents, or a clause stating that certain papers are to be found in the lähetteeseen. For many everyday purposes, liite is the more common term for a specific attachment, while lähete remains a formal or archival term.

See also: liite, lähetys, postitus, arkistointi.