hetkellä

Hetkellä is the adessive singular form of the Finnish noun hetki, meaning a moment or point in time. It is used to express “on the moment” or “at the moment,” indicating a specific time at which something occurs. The form is common in both spoken and written Finnish.

In grammar, hetkellä marks a precise moment and often appears in phrases such as tälla hetkellä or tällä hetkellä meaning “at this moment.” It is also used in relative clauses to specify timing, for example hetkellä, jolloin something happens, which translates roughly to “the moment when.” This usage emphasizes a particular point in time, and it can contrast with more general timing expressions introduced by when or kun.

Common examples illustrate its function. Hetkellä, jolloin hän avasi oven, tuuli ulkona yltyi (“the moment when he opened the door, the wind outside intensified”). Tällä hetkellä monet suunnitelmat etenevät nopeasti (“at this moment many plans are moving forward”). In narrative or formal prose, hetkellä can introduce a pivotal temporal moment in a sequence of events.

Etymology and related forms: hetkellä derives from hetki, the noun for a moment, with the adessive suffix -llä. Related forms include hetkillä (adessive plural), and the adjective hetkellinen meaning “momentary.” An adverbial form meaning “from time to time” is hetkittäin.

See also: hetki, hetkellinen, hetkittäin.