aastatesse

Aastatesse is an Estonian grammatical form that corresponds to the illative plural of the noun aasta (year). It is used to indicate movement into a period defined by several years, or to refer to entering a span of years—such as in historical, biographical, or poetic contexts. In everyday speech, the form is uncommon; it occurs mainly in written Estonian, especially in literary or historical prose where time is treated as a landscape or sequence.

The form is created from the base stem aasta- with the genitive plural aastate followed by the illative suffix -sse to denote direction into. Thus aastatesse literally means "into the years" or "into the span of years." Its use is closely tied to temporal metaphors and to notions of transitions between time intervals, such as eras, decades, or personal timelines.

Unlike the singular illative aastasse (into the year), the plural form aastatesse is used when the reference is to multiple years or a sizable temporal span rather than a single year. It can carry a solemn or historical tone and is sometimes employed in figurative language.