Sügisesse

Sügisesse is the illative form of the Estonian noun sügis, meaning autumn. The illative case signals direction toward something or into a space or time, so sügisse can denote entering autumn or referring to the autumn season as a time period. The form is created from the stem sügis plus the illative suffix -sse; the standard spelling is sügisse, with a double s before the final e.

Usage and context: In everyday Estonian, sügisse is relatively rare and is typically found in literary, descriptive, or poetic language. It tends to appear in expressions that describe a transition into autumn or evoke the onset of the season, often with verbs of movement or change of state, or in metaphorical phrases about the passage of time. The illative conveys a sense of entering a phase rather than simply naming the season.

Distribution and alternatives: For ordinary speech about the season, speakers more commonly use expressions such as sügis tuleb (autumn is coming) or sügis on saabumas (autumn is arriving). These forms express the temporal aspect of autumn without relying on the illative. When sügisse is used, it typically adds a stylistic nuance, emphasizing a passage or movement into the autumn period.

See also: sügis (autumn), illative case in Estonian grammar. In translation, sügisse is often rendered as "into autumn" or "into the autumn season" to capture its directional and temporal sense.