Kieleen

Kieleen is the illative singular form of the Finnish noun kieli, meaning language or tongue. In Finnish grammar, the illative case marks movement toward or into a location or target. When applied to the word kieli, kieleen is used in contexts that describe entering or aiming at a particular language, such as translation or language learning.

Form and related forms: The illative suffix for kieli yields kieleen. Related inflected forms of kieli include kielen (genitive), kielessä (inessive), kielellä (adessive), and kielestä (elative). The illative is distinguished from other cases by its function of indicating direction toward the language rather than location on or in the language itself.

Usage notes: In practical use, kieleen appears in phrases that describe moving toward or selecting a language as a target. A common example is tekstin kääntäminen toiseen kieleen, meaning translating the text into another language. The form is predictable for many Finnish nouns with the pattern that changes the final vowel to -e- and adds -en, though some stem changes occur in other words. For learners, recognizing kieleen involves noting the illative suffix and assessing whether the context involves entering or targeting a language.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, noun kieli, list of Finnish cases.