puolitetaan

Puolitetaan is the third-person singular present passive form of the Finnish verb puolittaa, which means to divide something into two equal parts or to bisect. The root puoli means half, and the verb form carries a causative/ transitional sense that something is made into halves. In practical use, puolitetaan describes a process where an item or quantity is being halved.

Etymology and grammar: puolittaa combines puoli (half) with affixes that create a causative/transitive verb meaning “to make into halves.” The passive present form puolitetaan is used when the subject is the thing that is divided, rather than the person performing the action. Related forms include puolitettiin (past passive) and puolitettaisiin (conditional passive). The noun form for the action is puolittaminen (halving or bisecting).

Usage: The term is common in technical, mathematical, culinary, and instructional contexts. It can refer to physically cutting an object in two equal pieces, as well as to dividing a quantity, measurement, or portion in half. For example, in a recipe or a production instruction, a step might state that a component is puolitetaan to achieve two equal portions. In mathematics, a number or value can be described as puolitetaan when its value is being halved.

See also: related concepts include jakaminen (division), jako (division), and puolitus (the process of halving). The concept is contrasted with other fractional operations such as kaksinkertaistaminen (doubling) and kolmenneksen jakaminen (dividing into thirds).