keittiölle

Keittiölle is the allative form of the Finnish noun keittiö, meaning the kitchen. In Finnish, the allative case marks direction toward a place or target of an action, indicating movement toward that location or the destination of an activity. Keittiölle is used when someone or something is going to or directed to the kitchen, or when the kitchen is the destination of an action.

Morphology and usage notes: The allative suffix -lle is attached to the noun stem keittiö to form keittiölle. This form is distinct from the illative form keittiöön (into the kitchen), and from inessive keittiössä (in the kitchen). The allative commonly appears with verbs of motion or transfer, such as mennä (to go), tulla (to come), viedä (to take), tuoda (to bring), and asettaa or laittaa (to place). For example, Mene keittiölle to go to the kitchen; Laittakaa kahvi keittiölle means “put the coffee in the kitchen” or “bring it to the kitchen.”

Examples:

- Mennään keittiölle hakemaan kahvia. (Let’s go to the kitchen to fetch coffee.)

- Aseta tämä keittiölle, kiitos. (Place this in the kitchen, please.)

Etymology and related forms: Keittiö originates from Swedish kök (kitchen). The allative -lle is a productive directional ending in Finnish, used with various place names to indicate destination. In contrast, the illative -in/-en/-iin forms indicate motion into a place, such as keittiöön (into the kitchen).

See also: Finnish grammar on the allative (allatiivi) case; contrast with the illative (illatiivi) and inessive (inessiivi) forms for kitchen.