Syömään

Syömään is the illative singular form of the Finnish verb syödä, meaning to eat. It is not a standalone infinitive; the basic infinitive is syödä, while syömään expresses direction toward eating or purpose, and is used in constructions that indicate going to eat or doing something in order to eat.

In practice, syömään appears after verbs of movement or intent, forming phrases such as mennä syömään (to go to eat) or olla menossa syömään (to be on the way to eat). It can also follow the stems of other verbs in purpose clauses, for example eläinlääkäri sanoi menevänsä syömään after a long day, though the most common usage is with keskustelu about meals and eating plans. The form is commonly encountered in everyday speech, menus, and signs that refer to eating activities.

Syömään contrasts with syödä, the dictionary infinitive meaning “to eat.” The noun form for the act of eating is syöminen (eating). An adjective meaning edible is syötävä. The illative form syömään is part of a broader pattern in Finnish where the -mään suffix turns the verb stem into a form indicating movement toward or purpose, often after verbs of going, heading, or planning to do something.

Examples:

- Mennään syömään. (Let’s go eat.)

- Hän meni syömään ennen elokuvaa. (He went to eat before the movie.)

- Olen menossa syömään. (I am on my way to eat.)