Sulkuun

Sulkuun is the illative case form of the Finnish noun sulku, which refers to a bracket, parenthesis, or other delimiter used in writing and typesetting. In Finnish grammar, the illative expresses direction toward something, so sulkuun is used to describe moving text or content into a bracket or parentheses.

In practice, sulku refers to punctuation marks such as parentheses () or square brackets [] and the term sulkuun appears mainly in linguistic explanations, editorial instructions, or technical descriptions rather than in everyday spoken Finnish. It specifies a hypothetical or described action of inserting or placing material inside a bracket.

Usage examples are common in instruction manuals or style guides. For instance, a writer might instruct, “Lisää teksti sulkuun,” meaning to insert the text into the bracket. In linguistic or typographic discussion, sulkuun helps convey that content should be enclosed within delimiters rather than presented outside them.

Related terms include sulku (the bracket itself) and sulut (plural form referring to brackets in general). The word is part of Finnish punctuation terminology and appears in discussions of syntax, typography, and language grammar.

Etymology notes: sulku means bracket, and sulkuun is formed by attaching the illative suffix to express movement toward or into the bracket. This use aligns with Finnish vowel harmony rules and the broader system of cases that express direction and location.