perusmuodossa

Perusmuoto is a Finnish linguistic term meaning the base form or lemma of a word—the form used as the canonical citation form in dictionaries and linguistic analysis. It is the form from which other inflected forms are derived and is thus central to understanding Finnish morphology and lexicography.

For nouns the perusmuoto is typically the singular nominative form. Examples: koira (dog) is the perusmuoto of that noun, and koiraa in some dialects or forms would appear only in different cases or plural forms. The perusmuoto serves as the entry form in most Finnish dictionaries.

For adjectives the perusmuoto corresponds to the positive degree in its dictionary form. The form used in lexicographic entries is the base form that other degrees and inflections (comparative, superlative, and gender or number endings in can vary with nouns) are built upon. The perusmuoto is the form you would most often encounter as the citation form for an adjective.

For verbs the perusmuoto is usually the present active infinitive, which ends in -a/-ä, -da/-dä, or similar patterns, depending on the verb. Examples include kirjoittaa (to write) and syödä (to eat). This infinitive form is the standard citation form found in dictionaries and is the starting point for conjugation across tenses, moods, voices, numbers, and persons.

In practice, perusmuoto functions as the lemma or dictionary form for reference, analysis, and word-form generation. The concept helps learners and researchers organize Finnish words by a stable, base form from which grammatical variants are produced.