viitenä

Viitenä is the essive form of the Finnish noun viite, meaning reference or citation. In Finnish grammar, the essive case denotes a temporary state or role, roughly “as a X.” The form viitenä is formed by adding the essive suffix -na/-nä to the stem viite-, yielding viitenä. Semantically, viite can refer to a bibliographic reference, a data point used for comparison, or a general point of reference in a text. As viitenä, the noun expresses that something is acting in the role of a reference at a given moment, rather than permanently becoming that role.

Usage and scope: Viitenä occurs mainly in written, formal Finnish, including academic or technical prose. It is used when detailing what source or reference an item serves as in a particular context. The essive form contrasts with the translative form viitteeksi, which marks a transition or designation into a new role (for example, turning something into a reference). In everyday speech, the essive is less frequent, and people may instead use other constructions or translative forms.

Related terms: viite (reference, citation), viitteet (references), viitetiedot (citation details). See also Finnish grammar notes on the essive case.