kumppaniin

Kumppaniin is the illative singular form of the Finnish noun kumppani, meaning "to the partner" or "into the partner" depending on context. As an inflected case form, kumppaniin is used to indicate direction, movement toward, entry into a state, or the target of certain verbs and postpositions.

The base word kumppani denotes a partner, associate or companion in social, romantic or professional contexts. The Finnish term is a borrowing ultimately derived from Old French compagnon (via Swedish kompanjon), with Latin roots in companionem. Pronunciation follows Finnish phonology, with a long consonant and vowel in the illative: approximately [kumˈpːɑniːn].

Grammatically, kumppaniin appears after verbs that govern the illative (for example, luottaa kumppaniin — "to trust the partner") or to express motion: mennä kumppaniin could imply going to a partner. The plural illative form is kumppaneihin. Related cases include the nominative kumppani, genitive kumppanin, and partitive kumppania.

Usage notes: kumppaniin is a common, neutral form in both colloquial and formal Finnish when referring to direction toward a partner or metaphorical entry into a partnership or relationship. Context determines whether the reference is to a business associate, romantic partner, teammate or other associate.