selittävä

Selittävä is a Finnish adjective meaning explanatory or related to explanation. It is derived from the verb selittää, “to explain,” and is formed with the present active participle suffix -vä. The term is used to describe something that provides an explanation, interpretation, or account of a phenomenon. In everyday language, common collocations include selittävä tekijä (explanatory factor), selittävä teksti (explanatory text), and selittävä huomio (explanatory remark).

In statistical and research contexts, selittävä muuttuja refers to an explanatory or predictor variable that helps account for variation in a dependent variable, typically called riippuva muuttuja in Finnish. In regression analysis, researchers include one or more selittäviä muuttujia to model the outcome and assess how changes in the predictors relate to the dependent variable. The term is also used more broadly in the social sciences, where selittäviä tekijöitä are factors that help explain observed patterns, differences, or behaviors.

The word functions as an attributive adjective, agreeing with its noun in number and case (for example, selittävä muuttuja in singular, selittäviä muuttujia in plural). While related nouns such as selittäminen (explaining) exist, selittävä mainly appears in its adjective form to describe objects, ideas, or variables that provide explanation.