etäisyyteen

Etäisyyteen is a Finnish inflected form of the noun etäisyys, meaning distance. It is the illative singular form, used to express direction toward a distance or movement into a distance, as well as to indicate attainment of a certain extent in space, time, or a figurative sense. In Finnish, illative is one of the locative cases that marks destination or toward-ness and is commonly used with verbs of motion or with expressions describing reach or proximity.

In practice, etäisyyteen appears in sentences where the speaker is describing approaching or aiming toward a distance, or when speaking about reaching a particular extent or boundary. The illative form helps to specify the target of movement or the direction associated with the distance being discussed. Beyond literal space, the illative can also be used metaphorically to refer to reaching a threshold or level of distance in a non-physical sense.

Formation and related forms: etäisyyteen is formed by attaching the illative suffix to the stem etäisyys. Finnish nouns have several related forms for different grammatical purposes, such as etäisyyden (genitive) and etäisyyttä (partitive). The illative is part of the broader system of Finnish case endings that express direction, location, and movement.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, etäisyys.