illeilla

Illeilla is a Finnish time-expression that denotes the evenings, used to indicate when an action occurs. It is formed from the noun ilta, meaning evening or a social gathering, with the adessive plural suffix -illa to express “in the evenings” or “during the evenings.” In standard Finnish, the more common form is illoilla, but illeilla appears as a variant in some dialects or in informal writing.

In usage, illeilla functions as a temporal modifier referring to multiple evenings or a habitual pattern across evenings. It is typically used in contexts describing events, routines, or plans that take place during the later part of the day on several occasions. Because Finnish uses extensive suffixation, the exact form can vary with mood, number, and case, and illeilla is one of several related time expressions built from ilta.

Relation to standard language: Many speakers consider illoilla to be the standard orthography for “in the evenings.” illeilla may occur as a spelling variant, a regional pronunciation, or a source of occasional misspellings in casual text. In formal writing, illoilla is generally preferred.

See also: ilta, illan, illalla, illoilla, illat, Finnish time expressions.

Note: The Finnish word for “in the evenings” written most commonly in formal contexts is illoilla. If you encounter illeilla, it is often reasonable to treat it as an informal or regional variant of the same expression.