puhtaina

Puhtaina is a Finnish inflected form of the adjective puhdas, meaning clean. It functions as the plural essive form, which in Finnish expresses a temporary or situational state. In other words, puhtaina translates roughly to “in a clean state” or “as clean ones” when the subject is plural. It is used to describe multiple objects or people that are in a clean condition.

In usage, puhtaina appears in sentences that describe how something or someone looks or feels at a given moment. For example, Lapset tulivat kotiin puhtaina means “The children came home clean.” Vaatteet olivat puhtaina after a wash is another common construction. The form contrasts with singular essive puhtaana (for a single subject) and with other related forms such as puhtaita (partitive plural) and puhtaat (nominative plural).

Etymologically, puhtaina is formed from the root puhta- of puhdas (clean) with the essive plural ending. The essive case in Finnish marks a state or condition and is widely used with adjectives to describe appearance, mood, or status. Because it is a grammatical form rather than a standalone lexical item, puhtaina is primarily encountered as part of a larger noun phrase.

Related forms include puhtaana (singular essive: “in a clean state”) and puhtaana pidetyt variants in different contexts. Puhtaina is common in everyday Finnish, particularly when discussing cleanliness, appearance, or readiness after cleaning or laundry.