kirkkoon

Kirkkoon is the illative singular form of the Finnish noun kirkko, meaning church. It expresses movement toward or into a church and is commonly translated as “to the church” or “into the church” in English. In Finnish, the illative case is used with verbs of motion to indicate the destination of the action.

Usage and examples

Kirkkoon is typically used with verbs such as mennä (to go) or tulla (to come). Examples: “Mennään kirkkoon.” (Let's go to the church.) “Olen menossa kirkkoon.” (I am on my way to the church.) The form can also appear in compound expressions naming destinations or directions.

Etymology and relations

The word kirkko means church and is related to cognates in other Finnic languages (for example Estonian kirik). The illative form kirkkoon reflects Finnish inflection patterns for indicating direction toward a place. The exact ending is determined by Finnish phonology and vowel harmony rules, but kirkkoon is the standard illative form used with kirkko.

Notes

Kirkkoon is a functional, everyday term in religious and general contexts, including directions, attendance, or descriptions of movement. It is one of several illative forms in Finnish that express place-oriented motion, alongside other illative endings used with different stems.

See also

Kirkko; Finnish illative case; Finnish grammar.