suullisia

Suullisia is the plural partitive form of the Finnish adjective suullinen, meaning "oral" or "spoken." The term is used to describe things that are conveyed or performed by mouth rather than in writing. In everyday Finnish, suullisia is commonly found in contexts such as education, testing, and oral communication, where it distinguishes spoken content from written content.

In Finnish grammar, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and case. When describing plural nouns in the partitive case, the form suullisia is used, for example suullisia kysymyksiä (oral questions) or suullisia kertomuksia (oral narratives). Common collocations include suullisia kokeita (oral exams) and suullisia esityksiä (oral presentations). The adverbial counterpart is suullisesti, meaning “orally” or “by speaking.”

Usage and contexts. Suullisia is frequently encountered in educational settings to differentiate between tests or assessments administered verbally versus written. It also appears in language assessment, research interviews, and other situations where information is provided through spoken language. Beyond education, the term can be used in journalism, meetings, and clinical discussions to denote spoken rather than written material.

Relation to other terms. Suullinen contrasts with kirjallinen, meaning written, and with suullisesti, the adverb meaning “orally.” The term reflects Finnish emphasis on modality (spoken vs. written) in description and classification of communications and tasks.

See also: suullinen, kirjallinen, suullisesti.