yksilöllä

Yksilöllä is the adessive form of the Finnish noun yksilö, meaning an individual or single entity, such as a person or an organism. The term is used in contexts where something is stated with regard to a specific individual rather than to a group. As with other Finnish adessive forms, its meaning can indicate location on or at the referent, or, in more abstract uses, association with the individual as the referent of a statement.

Etymology and morphology: Yksilö is the base noun meaning an individual. The adessive singular form is -llä, producing yksilöllä. The genitive form is yksilön, and the plural nominative is yksilöt. This inflection pattern is part of standard Finnish noun morphology and allows the word to function in spatial, referential, or instrumental-like constructions depending on context.

Usage and nuance: In written Finnish, yksilöllä often appears to distinguish something that concerns or applies to a single individual rather than to a group. It is commonly contrasted with expressions like yksilötasolla (at the individual level), ryhmä- tai populaatiotasolla (at the group or population level). In many contexts, writers prefer per-yksilö formulations, such as yksilökohtaisesti or per yksilö, to avoid ambiguity. The word is more frequent in technical, medical, or sociological texts than in everyday language, where other phrases may be used to convey the same idea.

See also: yksilö, yksilötaso, yksilökohtaisesti.