isännillä

Isännillä is a Finnish noun form meaning “the hosts” or “with the hosts,” used in the plural adessive case. The base word is isäntä, which denotes a host, master, or owner of a household. When speaking about more than one host or about something associated with the hosts, Finnish can use the adessive plural isännillä to indicate location or possession by the hosts.

Grammatical details and usage examples play a central role in understanding isännillä. The adessive plural -lla/-llä marks location, presence, or accompaniment with the noun it describes. In practice, isännillä frequently appears in clauses expressing what the hosts have or provide, or where an action takes place in relation to the hosts. For example, isännillä on kahvia tarjolla translates roughly to “the hosts have coffee available” or “coffee is available for the hosts,” depending on context. Isännillä can also denote a physical location associated with the hosts, as in “isännillä sijaitsee juhlatila” (the party venue is at the hosts’ place).

In broader usage, isäntä is often contrasted with emäntä, the latter referring specifically to a female host or the female head of a household. The term is common in everyday Finnish when discussing hosting duties, hospitality, or the ownership of a property. The plural nominative is isännät, while isännillä handles the adessive plural form for references to the hosts in various contexts.

See also: isäntä, emäntä, aateliaisuus and related terms for household management.