lyhytaikaista

Lyhytaikaista is the partitive singular form of the Finnish adjective lyhytaikainen, meaning short-term or short-lived. It is used to describe something that lasts for a brief period, and it appears when the noun it modifies is in the partitive case, or when the statement requires a partitive construction.

Etymology and form: lyhytaikaista is built from the stem lyhytaikainen (short-term) with the typical Finnish adjective suffix -inen and the partitive ending -sta/ -stä. The form is common when referring to a non-countable or partially encompassed quantity, such as loans, plans, or solutions, in a context that takes the partitive case (for example, lyhytaikaista lainaa, lyhytaikaista ratkaisua).

Usage and nuance: lyhytaikaista is widely used in business, finance, planning, and social discourse to distinguish duration. It conveys a definite but limited time span and is often contrasted with pitkäaikainen (long-term) or tilapäinen/väliaikainen (temporary, provisional). While lyhytaikainen and lyhytaikaista can be used interchangeably in some contexts, lyhytaikainen tends to modify a noun directly (lyhytaikainen ratkaisu), whereas lyhytaikaista appears in phrases requiring the partitive.

Examples: Yritys haki lyhytaikaista lainaa. Tämä on lyhytaikainen ratkaisu. The partnership announced lyhytaikaista liikenneinfran rahoitusta in the partitive with a following noun. In plural contexts, forms like lyhytaikaisia or lyhytaikaisia ratkaisuja are used to agree with plural nouns in different cases.

See also: related terms include pitkäaikainen (long-term), tilapäinen (temporary), and väliaikainen (provisional), which help express variations in duration and permanence in Finnish.