herkkään

Herkkään is the illative singular form of the Finnish adjective herkkä, meaning delicate or sensitive. It is used when the noun it modifies is in the illative case, indicating movement into or toward something described as delicate or refined.

In Finnish, adjectives decline like nouns, and the illative singular commonly ends in -aan or -ään. For the adjective herkkä, the illative singular form is herkkään. This form appears in phrases such as siirryimme herkkään sävyyn (we shifted to a delicate tone) or annettiin herkkään makuun (to a delicate palate), where herkkään serves to describe the following illative noun or phrase.

Usage of herkkään is typical in descriptive, literary, and formal Finnish. It often appears in contexts discussing tone, mood, taste, or refinement, and requires a noun in illative case to complete the expression. Because it is an adjective form, it does not stand alone as a noun; its meaning derives from the noun it accompanies and the illative construction it introduces.

Etymologically, herkkään derives from the base adjective herkkä, itself from a Finnish root meaning delicate or sensitive. The form reflects standard Finnish adjective inflection for illative usage. See also Finnish grammar, the illative case, and the adjective herkkä for related forms and usage.