Pöydässä

Pöydässä is the inessive singular form of the Finnish noun pöytä, meaning table. In Finnish grammar, the inessive case (suffix -ssa/-ssä) marks location inside something or within a space. When applied to pöytä, pöydässä typically signals that something is located inside the table itself or within a built‑in compartment, such as a hollow or drawer, rather than on the table’s surface.

In everyday usage, location on top of a table is usually expressed with the adessive form pöydällä. Pöydässä is thus used when the reference is to the interior of the table or to a space contained by the table rather than its exterior surface.

Formation and forms: The inessive suffix attaches to the noun, producing pöydässä for the singular. The plural form is pöydissä. Finnish speakers may also combine this form with possessives to indicate “in your table” (pöytäsiessä would be formed with standard possessive agreement, though simpler constructions are common in practice).

Examples include: Kynä on pöydässä. (The pencil is inside the table.) Laatikko on pöydässä. (The drawer is inside the table.) Pöydässä on reikä. (There is a hole in the table.) These illustrate interior location, distinct from the more common on-the-table sense expressed by pöydällä.

See also: Finnish grammar, inessive case, adessive case, location expressions.