Meneillään

Meneillään is a Finnish expression meaning that something is currently in progress, ongoing, or underway. It is used to describe activities such as projects, investigations, programs, processes, and negotiations. The term often appears in formal or semi-formal contexts, including media reports, government documents, and corporate communications, where it signals that a matter has started and is still developing.

Grammatical notes: Meneillään functions as a predicative adverbial phrase. It is commonly used with the copula olla: "Hanke on meneillään." It can also modify a noun in the attributive form: "meneillään oleva hanke" or "meneillään olevat hankkeet." The phrase is relatively invariable in predicative use, but the attributive form agrees with the noun in number and case (e.g., "meneillään oleva hanke" vs "meneillään olevat hankkeet").

Nuance and usage: Meneillään emphasizes the active, developing phase rather than planning or completion. It is more formal than everyday synonyms like "käynnissä" or "on käynnissä," and is often found in official reports, press releases, and news coverage about ongoing programs or negotiations. It contrasts with terms such as "suunnitteilla" (being planned) or "valmis" (finished).

Etymology and related terms: The expression is a fixed combination derived from the verb mennä (to go) and a state-marking form that conveys ongoing status; it is primarily idiomatic in Finnish. Related terms include käynnissä (in operation), vireillä (pending or under consideration), and keskeneräinen (unfinished).