Jyrkässä

Jyrkässä is the inessive singular form of the Finnish adjective jyrkkä, meaning steep. It is used to describe location or state in a steep place and must accompany a noun in the inessive case. For example, jyrkässä mäessä translates to “in a steep hill” or “on a steep slope.” Other common collocations include jyrkässä rinteessä (“in a steep slope”) and jyrkässä rotkossa (“in a steep gorge”).

Grammar and usage: Finnish adjectives decline to agree with the noun they modify in case and number. The inessive singular ending -ssa/-ssä is appended to the adjective’s stem, yielding jyrkässä. The form cannot stand alone; it is part of a larger noun phrase and will typically pair with a noun in the inessive case. The word order may vary, but the adjective agrees in case with the noun it modifies.

Usage and context: Jyrkässä appears in descriptive texts about landscapes, hiking routes, safety warnings, travel writing, and geographic descriptions. It conveys that the described place or surface has a pronounced incline or cliff and helps readers assess difficulty or risk.

Etymology: The form derives from Finnish jyrkkä (“steep”) plus the inessive ending -ssä.

See also: jyrkkä.