Käsivarsissa

Käsivarsissa is a Finnish locative form meaning “in the arms” or “in the upper arms.” It is the inessive plural form of käsivarsi, which refers to the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow. For comparison, the singular inessive form is käsivarressa, used when speaking about one arm; käsivarsissa is used when referring to both arms or to a general location within the arms.

The word is used in medical, anatomical, sports, and everyday language to describe the location of pain, injury, sensations, or phenomena in the arms. It can be found in clinical notes, descriptions of exercises or symptoms, and in descriptive prose where the arms are the point of reference.

Etymologically, käsivarsissa is formed from käsivarsi plus the inessive plural suffix -issa, following Finnish vowel harmony and noun-phrase agreement rules. It demonstrates how Finnish marks spatial location through case endings rather than prepositions.

Examples:

- Kipu tuntuu käsivarsissa pitkäkestoisen harjoittelun jälkeen. (The pain is in the upper arms after prolonged training.)

- Molempien käsivarsissa on turvotusta. (There is swelling in both arms.)

- Tutkijat mittasivat lihasaktiivisuutta käsivarsissa. (Researchers measured muscle activity in the arms.)

See also: käsivarsi, kyynärvarsi, inessive case, Finnish grammar.

Käsivarsissa is a standard, neutral term suitable for technical and non-technical Finnish, with the singular form käsivarressa used when referring to a single arm.