Kaukaisuuteen

Kaukaisuuteen is a Finnish illative form of the noun kaukaisuus, meaning into remoteness or into a distant place. The base kaukaisuus refers to remoteness or distance, which can be physical, temporal, or metaphorical. In everyday language the term can describe a distant location, a sense of distance between people, or a figurative distance in time or imagination.

Etymology and form: Kaukaisuus is formed with the -isuus suffix to express a state or quality, here remoteness. The illative form kaukaisuuteen is derived by adding the illative suffix -uun/-eeseen combination to kaukaisuus, indicating movement into or toward the remoteness. This makes kaukaisuuteen a common construction for predicates involving entering or directing attention toward a distant domain.

Usage and nuance: In Finnish, kaukaisuuteen is often used in both literal and figurative senses. Literal usage appears in travel or geography contexts, for example, matkustaa kaukaisuuteen (to travel to distant places). Figurative uses are common in poetry, literature, or reflective prose, conveying longing, existential distance, or the idea of venturing toward unknown futures. The term emphasizes qualitative remoteness rather than merely measurable distance, contrasting with etäisyys, which denotes distance more neutrally.

See also: etäisyys (distance), etäinen (remote), kaukainen (distant).

References: Finnish dictionaries and grammar resources cover the noun kaukaisuus and the illative kaukaisuuteen, including distinctions between physical and figurative remoteness.