Vierailuun

Vierailuun is the illative form of the Finnish noun vierailu, which means a visit or the act of visiting. The word denotes movement toward a visit or the purpose of going to visit someone, and it is used with verbs of motion such as lähteä or mennä. A typical example is Hän lähti vierailuun, meaning “He set off for a visit.”

Etymology and form: Vierailu comes from the base vieras, meaning guest, with the abstract noun suffix -ilu. The illative suffix -uun (or -iin, depending on vowel harmony) marks direction toward the destination of the visit, producing vierailuun for back vowels and -iin forms in other contexts. The form vierailuun therefore signals that the action is directed toward a visit.

Usage and nuance: Vierailuun is common in more formal or precise Finnish, especially in written language or concise statements about plans or movements. In everyday speech, speakers more often use phrases such as mennä vierailulle (to go for a visit) or käydä vierailulla (to pay a visit). The noun’s related forms include vierailun (genitive) to indicate “of the visit,” and vierailuihin (plural illative) for “to visits.”

Examples: Hän lähti vierailuun ystävän luo. (He left for a visit to his friend’s place.) Me aiomme mennä vierailulle ystävämme luokse. (We plan to go for a visit to our friend’s place.) Hän on ollut viikon vierailulla Amerikassa. (He has been on a visit in America for a week.)

See also: vierailu, käydä, mennä vierailulle, käydä vierailulla.