perhevälisten

Perhevälisten is a Finnish term meaning people connected by family ties. It is used to refer to relatives who belong to the same family network, including close kin such as parents, siblings, and children, as well as more distant relatives like cousins and in some contexts in-laws. The form perhevälisten is the plural form used when speaking about several such relatives; the singular is perhevälinen. The word is built from perhe, meaning family, and välinen, a suffix pattern used in kinship terms to denote relation. In practice, perhevälisten is most common in formal or scholarly language, genealogical writing, or legal contexts, while everyday speech typically uses sukulaiset or verisukulaiset to refer to relatives.

In Finnish, kinship terms distinguish levels of relation: verisukulaiset for blood relatives, lähisukulaiset for close relatives, and yleisesti sukulaiset for relatives. Perhevälisten may be used to emphasize the network of family connections rather than individual identities. The concept reflects how kinship and obligations are discussed in social and legal contexts in Finland, such as care responsibilities or inheritance considerations. While not as frequently used as sukulaiset in everyday language, perhevälisten appears in dictionaries, glossaries, and academic texts addressing kinship, family structures, or demographic studies.

See also: Sukulaiset, Verisukulaiset, Lähisukulaiset, Suku.