vuosikymmeninä

Vuosikymmeninä is a Finnish term that means “in decades” or “by decades.” It refers to the division of time into ten-year periods and to describing or analyzing events, changes, or data across those ten-year blocks. The word is formed from vuosikymmenet (decades) with an essive/locative-style ending that expresses a state or frame, yielding vuosikymmeninä. A closely related adverb is vuosikymmenittäin, which emphasizes presenting or counting data in ten-year intervals.

Usage and context

Vuosikymmeninä is commonly used in historical writing, sociology, demography, and economics to frame long-term trends rather than focusing on a single decade. It is often employed when summarizing development, comparing periods, or describing cumulative changes over multiple decades. In practice, writers may pair the term with verbs such as kasvaa, muuttua, kehittää, or with nouns like kehitys or tapahtumat to convey broad timescale perspectives.

Example usage

- Historian tutkimuksessa kehitys on usein tarkasteltu vuosikymmeninä.

- Tilastot esitetään vuosikymmeninä, jotta trendit ovat selkeitä.

Relation to other forms

The plural form yearsikymmeninä corresponds to the plural frame “in decades,” while vuosikymmenittäin (by decades) is a more explicit adverb indicating division into decade-length intervals. These forms sit alongside other time-scale expressions in Finnish, such as vuosisatoina (in centuries).

Neutral and descriptive

Vuosikymmeninä is a descriptive, neutral expression used to organize information across ten-year periods. It helps readers grasp long-term dynamics without attributing causality to any specific decade.