yleistämään

Yleistämään is a Finnish verb form derived from yleistää, meaning to generalize. The form represents the third infinitive (kolmas infinitiivi) of yleistää and is used in constructions that express purpose or intention, or the action of generalizing within a verbal chain. The root yleis- comes from yleinen, meaning general, so yleistää literally conveys the act of making something apply more broadly.

In practice, yleistämään appears mainly in formal or written Finnish. It commonly occurs after verbs of intention or effort, such as pyrkiä or aikomusta, in sentences that describe an aim to generalize. For example, tutkijat pyrkivät yleistämään havaintoja, meaning “the researchers strive to generalize the observations.” The third infinitive form is characterized by the suffix -maan/-mään, which aligns with vowel harmony and the verb’s stem.

Usage and register: yleistämään is more frequent in academic, policy, or methodological contexts where statements move from specific cases to broader conclusions. In everyday speech, speakers are more likely to use yleistää (to generalize) or the noun yleistäminen (generalization) rather than the third infinitive form.

Related terms include yleistävä (generalizing) and yleistäminen (generalization). The concept encompasses the process of drawing broader conclusions from data, examples, or observations, and is a common methodological consideration in research and analysis.