kaloihin

Kaloihin is the plural illative form of the Finnish noun kala, meaning fish. The illative case expresses direction toward or into something, so kaloihin translates roughly as “to the fishes” or “into the fishes.” It is used when referring to movement toward multiple fish or actions affecting a group of fish.

Formation and forms: The base noun kala forms the plural illative with the suffix -ihin, yielding kaloihin. This contrasts with the singular illative kal akan (kalaan) and with other cases such as genitive plural kalojen, and partitive plural kaloja. The plural illative is one of several case forms that Finnish nouns take to indicate grammatical relationships and meanings related to destination or motion.

Usage: Kaloihin appears primarily in contexts involving fish as a group, such as fishing, aquaculture, ecology, biology, or scientific writing. It can describe movement toward multiple fish (for example, actions directed at fishes) or figurative uses where fish are treated as a collective target. In everyday speech, this form is less common unless the discourse specifically centers on fish in plural.

Etymology: The form derives from kala (fish) with the standard Finnish plural illative suffix -ihin, a pattern shared by several other count nouns when referring to multiple items in motion toward them.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, kala, kalat (plural nominative), kaloja (partitive plural), kalojen (genitive plural).