Korkeimpaan

Korkeimpaan is a Finnish word form that appears in discussions of Finnish grammar. It is the illative singular form associated with the adjective korkea (high, tall) in its superlative usage, and it is used when a noun in illative case is described as being at the highest position or extent.

In practice, korkeimpaan is part of the normal inflection system that marks direction or goal in Finnish phrases. It combines the idea of the superlative (the highest) with the illative case, which indicates movement toward or into something. As a result, korkeimpaan often precedes a noun in illative phrases such as kerrokseen (into the floor/level) or pisteeseen (into the point). For example, Menen korkeimpaan kerrokseen means “I go to the highest floor,” and saavutimme korkeimpaan pisteeseen translates roughly as “we reached the highest point.” The form thus serves both literal and figurative senses of “to the highest.”

Etymologically, korkeimpaan is formed from the base korkea/korkein and the illative suffixes that Finnish uses to indicate direction toward a noun, with vowel harmony determining the exact suffix shape. It is one of many adjective-derived illative forms in Finnish, illustrating how adjectives and nouns interact to convey spatial or figurative direction.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, Finnish adjectives, superlatives.