Seinillä

Seinillä is a Finnish term meaning on the walls. It is the plural adessive form of the locative expression seinällä (on the wall) and is used to indicate location on multiple walls.

Linguistic and grammatical overview

Seinä (wall) takes the adessive case -llä to express "on the wall." In the plural, the ending changes to -illä, yielding seinillä for "on the walls." It is a locative phrase rather than a standalone noun and typically appears with verbs such as olla (to be), löytää (to find), or näkyä (to appear) to describe where objects are placed. The phrase is common in everyday speech as well as in written descriptions of interiors, galleries, museums, and architectural contexts.

Usage and examples

Seinillä is commonly used when describing the placement of objects. Examples include:

- Kuvia on seinillä ympäri asuntoa. (There are pictures on the walls throughout the apartment.)

- Käytävien seinillä on vanhoja valokuvia. (On the walls of the corridors there are old photographs.)

The construction can also appear in phrases that specify location more precisely, such as seinillä of a particular room or space.

Cultural and practical notes

In interior design, art curation, and architecture, seinillä is a practical way to express where artwork, notices, or decorations are displayed. While it is primarily a descriptive term, it can appear in signage, descriptions of exhibitions, and catalog entries where wall-mounted items are referenced.

See also

Finnish grammar, locative cases, seinä (wall), interior design terminology.