korvaan

Korvaan is the illative singular form of the Finnish noun korva, which means ear. In Finnish, the illative case expresses direction toward or into a location, so korvaan translates roughly as “into the ear” or “to the ear.” The form is created from the stem korva with the illative suffix -an, a pattern that appears with many Finnish nouns.

In usage, korvaan is typically seen in sentences describing movement into the ear or actions affecting the ear as a destination. It is commonly used with verbs of insertion or flow, such as placing a substance into the ear or describing fluid entering the ear. For example, a medical context might say, Lääke tiputettiin korvaan, meaning “The medicine was dropped into the ear.” Another example is Vesi meni korvaan, meaning “Water went into the ear.” The illative form can appear in various tenses and voices, but its core function remains indicating direction toward the ear.

Korvaan is not a separate lexical item in most contexts; rather, it is a grammatical form of korva. When teaching or learning Finnish grammar, korvaan serves as an example of how the illative singular marks a destination or container and how it interacts with verbs to describe actions involving the ear.

See also: Finnish grammar, illative case, korva (ear).