Tuhandetesse

Tuhandetesse is a term found in discussions of Estonian grammar. It is the illative plural form of the noun meaning “thousand” and is used to express movement into or toward a large quantity, roughly translating to “into thousands” or “into the thousands” in English. The form illustrates how Estonian marks direction or state change when dealing with numeral phrases that denote large scales.

In linguistic description, tuhandetesse serves as an example of the illative case in its plural usage with numerals. The exact formation involves the usual Estonian process for turning a numeral into an illative plural form, resulting in a word that functions inside noun phrases that describe movement into, or inclusion within, a large quantity. Because it is specialized and context-dependent, tuhandetesse appears mainly in formal, literary, or statistical prose rather than in everyday speech.

Usage and reception: tuhandetesse is not a common everyday word but is encountered in analyses of Estonian case systems, in discussions of numeral inflection, and in texts emphasizing large-scale quantities or phenomena. Some grammar guides may treat it as a technical or archaic example, and its prevalence can vary by dialect or register.

See also: Estonian grammar, illative case, Estonian numerals, linguistic morphology.