Rinteeltä

Rinteeltä is the elative case form of the Finnish noun rinne, meaning slope or incline. In Finnish, the elative case expresses origin or source, and is commonly translated as “from” or “off.” Therefore rinteeltä conveys moving away from or originating from a slope, and can refer to objects, people, or phenomena that come from that location.

Formation and usage: The elative suffix -ltä (or -ltä for certain stems) is added to the stem of rin­ne, yielding rinteeltä. It is distinct from other location cases such as rinteellä, which means “on the slope.” Rinteeltä is used with verbs of coming from or originating in a place, or to describe something that was located on or associated with the slope but is now away from it.

Examples: Hän tuli rinteeltä. (He came from the slope.) Löytyi vanha kartta rinteeltä. (An old map was found from the slope / on the slope.) In contrast, Hän seisoi rinteellä means “He stood on the slope.”

Notes: As with other Finnish cases, the exact interpretation depends on context. Rinteeltä should not be confused with rinteellä (on the slope) or rinteen (genitive of slope) in all circumstances. The term is commonly encountered in descriptions of skiing areas, mountainsides, or any setting involving a slope.

See also: Rin­ne, Finnish case system, elative case.