luotettaviin

Luotettaviin is the illative plural form of the Finnish adjective luotettava, meaning reliable or trustworthy. In Finnish grammar, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and case, so luotettaviin appears when the noun is plural and in the illative case. The illative form here often conveys a sense of direction or reference toward the object, as in phrases such as “to reliable sources” or “toward trustworthy ones.”

In practice, luotettaviin is most common in academic and journalistic Finnish, where it modifies plural nouns referring to sources, data, or evidence. Typical collocations include luotettaviin lähteisiin, luotettaviin tietoihin, and luotettaviin todisteisiin. The phrase tutkitus or kirjoitus can be said to rest on luotettaviin lähteisiin, or the argument may refer to luotettaviin tietoihin. The construction signals that credibility is a criterion for the referenced material.

The form is one step in a broader inflectional system. Related forms include luotettava (base form), luotettavat (nominative plural), and luotettavan/luotettavien (genitive and partitive variants). In discourse, choosing luotettaviin emphasizes reliance on credible, verifiable material rather than on less trustworthy sources. Distinctions between luotettaviin and other illative forms reflect standard Finnish adjective agreement rather than a separate lexical entry.

See also: luotettavuus, luotettava, lähde, tieto.