Ruokailun

Ruokailun is the genitive form of the Finnish noun ruokailu, which denotes dining, mealtime, or the act of eating. As a grammatical form, ruokailun is not a standalone lexical item but a case form used within phrases to indicate possession or relation to mealtime.

Ruokailu derives from ruoka (food) with the suffix -ailu, which indicates an activity or process. The genitive suffix -n marks a dependent relationship, yielding ruokailun. It is commonly found in phrases such as ruokailun aikana (during mealtime), ruokailun jälkeen (after mealtime), or ruokailun järjestelyt (mealtime arrangements).

Usage: Ruokailun appears mainly in written Finnish and in formal or descriptive contexts, including menus, schedules, rules, and instructional texts. In everyday speech the bare noun ruokailu is more common, but ruokailun forms are widely used when specifying time, sequence, or possession related to mealtime.

Cultural note: Mealtime is a regular part of Finnish daily life and is often treated as a social occasion, with norms about pacing and manners. This social context is sometimes reflected in the use of ruokailun-related phrases in planning, etiquette, or organizational texts.

See also: ruoka, ruokailu, ateriointi, ruokailutottumukset.