maaleihin

Maaleihin is the illative plural form of the Finnish noun maali, which can refer to paint or pigment. The illative case marks direction into or toward something, so maaleihin is used when the action concerns entering, adding to, or mixing into the paints. This form is typically found in technical or instructional language related to painting, color work, or material preparation, and it refers to multiple paint products or a paint mixture.

Common usage occurs in sentences describing how substances are combined with paints. For example: Sekoita pigmentti maaleihin. Lisää vettä maaleihin ja sekoita. Kaada ohennetta maaleihin ja sekoita huolellisesti. In such contexts maaleihin indicates that the action targets the contents of the paints rather than a single paint.

Notes on meaning and grammar: maaleihin is specifically the illative plural of maali. The word maali can also mean a goal in sports, but in that sense the illative plural form is not used; you would typically encounter forms like maalit or specific case forms of the singular or plural depending on the sentence. When referring to a single paint, the corresponding illative singular is maaliin. Understanding the distinction helps avoid ambiguity in technical writing and everyday language about painting.

See also:

- Finnish grammar and cases, illative

- Finnish nouns and plural forms

- Color and painting terminology in Finnish