Reikään

Reikään is the illative singular form of the Finnish noun reikä, meaning a hole. The illative case expresses direction into something, roughly “into a hole.” In this word, the illative suffix attaches to the stem of reikä, producing reikään.

Grammatically, the illative suffix is one of several directional cases in Finnish. For reikä, the stem combines with the illative suffix to yield reikään. This form is used when describing movement toward the interior of a hole or perforation, or when referring to being inside or entering a hole in a figurative sense.

Usage examples include typical verbs of movement or perception. For instance, kurkistaa reikään means to peek into a hole. Laitoin avaimen reikään and turned, meaning I inserted the key into the hole and opened the lock. Reikään can also appear in phrases describing entering a hole or space, such as “pääsi reikään” in contexts like physical entry or inspection.

Notes on usage: as with other illative forms, reikään follows the governing verb or construction and agrees with the sentence’s subject in perspective, not in a separate agreement. It is not a standalone noun but a case form of reikä used to indicate direction into the hole.

See also: Finnish illative case, reikä (hole).