näkyvät

Näkyvät is a Finnish word that can function in two related ways: as the plural nominative form of the adjective näkyvä, meaning visible or apparent, and as the third-person plural present tense form of the verb näkyä, meaning to appear or be visible. In other words, näkyvät can describe something that is visible, or it can serve as a verb saying that several things appear or are visible.

As an adjective, näkyvä means visible, and its plural nominative form is näkyvät, used with plural nouns. For example, näkyvät rakennukset means “the visible buildings.” The adjective follows standard Finnish agreement rules, modifying nouns in number and case (e.g., näkevän for genitive singular, näkyviä for partitive plural, etc.). As a verb, näkyvät is the present tense, third-person plural form of näkyä, and expresses that several subjects appear or are visible. For example, Tähdet näkyvät pilvien takaa can be rendered as “The stars are visible (appear) through the clouds.”

Etymology and related forms derive from näky, a noun meaning sight or appearance, with näkyä as the related verb meaning to appear or be visible. The two uses share the same root but occupy different parts of speech, so context determines whether näkyvät functions as an adjective or as a finite verb.

Common usage spans everyday language and more technical registers, including astronomy, weather, and design, where distinguishing between something that is visibly present and something that merely seems so matters. See also näky (the noun meaning sight or appearance) and näkevä/näkyvä (related adjective forms).