alemmilla

Alemmilla is a Finnish linguistic term referring to a grammatical form rather than a named place or person. It denotes a locative meaning, used to indicate position in the lower part of a set or comparison of levels or areas. In practice, alemilla functions as the adessive plural form of an adjective meaning “lower,” and it appears when describing multiple nouns that are located lower relative to another reference point.

Usage and examples

Alemmilla is typically found in descriptive phrases about places, structures, or hierarchies. It commonly occurs with plural nouns in the adessive case, as in expressions describing location on the lower floors of a building or in lower sections of a landscape. An example construction is something like “alemmill kerroksilla” (on the lower floors), where the adjective aligns with the plural noun to convey relative position. The form is contrasted with the corresponding upper-position form, ylemmillä, which conveys the idea of being on higher levels.

Relation to Finnish grammar

Alemmilla is part of how Finnish adjectives express location in relation to multiple objects. It demonstrates how adjectives inflect for number and case to agree with the nouns they modify. While not a standalone word with a separate meaning, alemilla is a productive part of everyday Finnish, especially in buildings, urban planning, or topographical descriptions.

See also

Finnish grammar, adjectives in Finnish, adessive case, upper-level forms (e.g., ylemmillä).