numeraaliseen

Numeraalinen is a Finnish adjective meaning numerical or related to numbers. It is commonly used in mathematical, statistical, and computing contexts to describe quantities, computations, or representations that involve numbers rather than text or qualitative attributes. The illative singular form of the adjective, numeraaliseen, is used when the noun it modifies is in the illative case, for example in the phrase tiedot esitettiin numeraaliseen muotoon (the data were presented into numerical form). The word also appears in other inflected forms to match different cases and numbers, such as numeraalisessa and numeraalisiin.

In practice, numeraalinen translates most often to numerical or numeric in English. Distinctions between these translations in Finnish contexts are subtle and depend on usage: numerical tends to emphasize the relationship to numbers in calculations or measurements, while numeric is often linked to digits or symbols themselves. In Finnish technical writing, numeraalinen is standard for describing algorithms, methods, or data that involve numbers rather than qualitative descriptions. For example, numeraalinen laskenta refers to numerical computation, and numeraaliset menetelmät can denote numerical methods used in analysis or simulation. Similarly, numeraalisessa analyysissä means “in numerical analysis.”

Etymologically, numeraalinen is derived from numero, meaning number, with the Finnish adjectival suffix -aalinen, yielding a term that denotes relation to numbers. It is part of a broader set of terms describing quantitative and computational concepts in Finnish.

See also: numerical methods, numerical analysis, numeric, Finnish mathematics terminology.