Keittiössä

Keittiössä is the inessive singular form of the Finnish noun keittiö, meaning “the kitchen” or “kitchen area.” It is used to indicate location, translating to “in the kitchen” in English. It is common in everyday Finnish to describe where an action takes place or where something is located, for example: “Keittiössä on kahvia” (There is coffee in the kitchen).

Morphology and usage: Finnish marks location with cases rather than prepositions. The inessive case is formed with the suffix -ssä, so keittiö becomes keittiössä. The plural form is keittiöissä, meaning “in the kitchens.” Related forms include keittiön (genitive, “of the kitchen”) and keittiöön (illative, “into the kitchen”), used for movement into a kitchen.

Etymology and context: The word keittiö originates from the Swedish kök and was adopted into Finnish. Keittiö refers to the main room where cooking takes place and is a central domestic space in Finnish homes, reflecting the kitchen’s role in daily life and family routines.