kirjoilla

Kirjoilla is a Finnish noun form meaning "on the books" or "at the books." It is the plural adessive form of kirja (book) and is used to express location, indicating that something is located on top of or at the books.

In Finnish, the adessive case denotes position on a surface or at a place. The plural adessive form for kirja is kirjoilla, while the singular adessive is kirjalla. This is part of the broader locative case system, which also includes forms such as inessive (-ssa/-ssä) and elative (-sta/-stä). The stem in the adessive plural often shifts to kir- plus -jo- before the backside ending -lla/-llä, yielding kirjoilla.

Usage and nuance: kirjoilla is used when describing the location of objects relative to multiple books or a collection of books. For example, one might say that an item is located on top of several books, or that something is found at the books as a reference point. While the form is valid, it tends to appear in descriptive, inventory, or precise spatial contexts rather than in everyday casual speech.

Related forms and notes: The singular form is kirjalla (on the book). Other related cases for kirja include kirjassa (in the book), kirjoihin (into the books), kirjoista (from the books), and kirjoina (as books). These forms illustrate Finnish noun declension patterns across cases and numbers.

See also: Finnish grammar, Finnish noun declension, list of cases.