siirtymä

Siirtymää is the partitive singular form of the Finnish noun siirtymä, meaning a transition, shift, or change from one state, condition, place, or phase to another. The term is used broadly to describe processes of movement or alteration, from everyday life—such as changing jobs or moving to a new city—to more abstract changes in organizations, societies, or technologies. It also appears in scientific and technical discourse as a general label for transitional phenomena.

Etymology and morphology: Siirtymä is formed from the verb siirtyä ("to move, to transfer") with the nominalizing suffix -mä, giving the base meaning "the act of moving." Siirtymää is the partitive singular form, used when the transition is indefinite or treated as part of a larger context. Finnish grammar often requires the partitive for non-specific or uncountable quantities of a process.

Usage and domains: In everyday Finnish, siirtymää and related forms convey transitions of state or place. In technology and policy, phrases such as siirtymää kohti digitalisointia or siirtymäaika describe transitional periods or phases during the adoption of new systems. In computing and linguistics, siirtymä can denote a state or phase transition, for example in discussions of tilasiirtymä (state transition).

Related terms include siirtymä (transition), siirtymäaika (transition period), and siirtymävaihe (transition phase). The term is connected to broader concepts of change and movement and is used across various disciplines to describe progress from one condition to another.