Leikkimään

Leikkimään is the illative infinitive form of the Finnish verb leikkiä, meaning to go to play or to engage in playing. It is used to express purpose or movement toward the activity of playing, and appears in constructions with verbs of motion or intention, such as mennä or lähteä.

Formation and usage: In Finnish, the illative infinitive is formed by adding the suffix -mään to the verb stem. For leikkiä, this yields leikkimään. The form is non-finite and serves to indicate direction toward an action. Typical examples include: Hän meni leikkimään (He went to play); Lähdetään leikkimään (Let's go play); Lapset haluavat mennä leikkimään (The children want to go and play).

Relation to other forms: Leikkimään contrasts with leikkiä, which is the basic, finite infinitive meaning “to play” as an activity itself. The noun leikkiminen denotes the act of playing. In sentences, leikkimään often appears after verbs of motion or verbs expressing intention, while leikkiä or leikkiminen function as non-finite or nominal forms when describing play in general.

Usage notes: Leikkimään is common in everyday Finnish, especially in contexts involving children, outdoor play, and social activities. The illative form is grammatical and widely understood, but may be less frequent in highly formal writing, where alternative constructions may be preferred.

See also: leikkiä, leikkiminen.