Paikkasijakäännökset - Location Cases 📍 #

2025-11-30

Finnish has six location cases divided into two systems: internal (inside) and external (on/at surface).

Internal Location System (S-cases) #

Illative (入格) - Mihin? (Where to?) #

Ending: -Vn, -hVn, -seen

Indicates movement into something.

Formation rules:

1. Non-monosyllabic word ending in single vowel: double the last vowel + n
2. Non-monosyllabic word ending in two different vowels: double the last vowel + n
3. Monosyllabic word ending in two vowels: +hVn (V = last vowel)
4. Non-monosyllabic word ending in double same vowel: +seen

Examples:

• Kissa menee laatikkoon. (Cat goes into the box.)
• Kissa menee huoneeseen. (Cat goes into the room.)
• Menen kouluun. (I go to school.)

Inessive (内格) - Missä? (Where?) #

Ending: -ssa/-ssä

Indicates being inside something.

Examples:

• Kissa on laatikossa. (Cat is in the box.)
• Kissa on keittiössä. (Cat is in the kitchen.)
• Kissa on vessassa. (Cat is in the toilet.)
• Minä nukun sängyssä. (I sleep in bed.)

Elative (出格) - Mistä? (Where from?) #

Ending: -sta/-stä

Indicates movement out of something.

Examples:

• Kissa tulee laatikosta. (Cat comes from the box.)
• Kissa tulee huoneesta. (Cat comes from the room.)
• Tulen kaupasta. (I come from the store.)

External Location System (L-cases) #

Allative (向格) - Mihin? (Where to?) #

Ending: -lle

Indicates movement onto a surface or toward something.

Examples:

• Kissa menee pöydälle. (Cat goes onto the table.)
• Kissa menee pihalle. (Cat goes to the yard.)
• Kissa menee kattolle. (Cat goes onto the roof.)

Adessive (所格) - Missä? (Where?) #

Ending: -lla/-llä

Indicates being on a surface, at a location, or near something.

Examples:

• Kissa on pöydällä. (Cat is on the table.)
• Kissa on lattialla. (Cat is on the floor.)
• Kissa on tuolilla. (Cat is on the chair.)
• Olen Helsingissä, Esplanadin puistolla. (I’m in Helsinki, at Esplanade park.)

Note: Also used for:

• Being on/at streets
• Being near certain locations
• Some cities and locations

Ablative (离格) - Mistä? (Where from?) #

Ending: -lta/-ltä

Indicates movement away from a surface.

Examples:

• Kissa tulee pöydältä. (Cat comes from the table.)
• Kissa tulee pihalta. (Cat comes from the yard.)
• Kissa tulee kattolta. (Cat comes from the roof.)

Usage with Verbs #

Common Verbs with Location Cases #

mennä + Mihin = to go (to)

käydä + Missä = to visit (at)

tulla + Mistä = to come (from)

Existence Expressions #

Something exists somewhere #

Positive: [Location in -ssa/-ssä or -lla/-llä] + on + [thing]

• Huoneessa on pöytä. (There is a table in the room.)
• Pöydällä on kirja. (There is a book on the table.)

Negative: [Location in -ssa/-ssä or -lla/-llä] + ei ole + [thing in partitive]

• Huoneessa ei ole pöytää. (There is no table in the room.)
• Pöydällä ei ole kirjaa. (There is no book on the table.)

Summary Table #