märkässä

märkässä is Finnish for “in the wet.” It is the inessive singular form of the adjective märkä, meaning wet or damp. In Finnish, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in case, number, and gender, so märkä becomes märkässä when used with a noun in the inessive case, indicating location or condition.

The term is used to describe conditions, objects, or landscapes characterized by moisture. It commonly appears in weather-related phrases such as märkässä säässä (in wet weather) or märkässä kunnossa (in a damp/wet condition). It can also modify nouns referring to surfaces or environments, for example märkässä maassa (in wet ground) or märkässä alustassa (in a damp surface). In everyday language, märkästä or kosteasta are often used as synonyms, with märkässä carrying a stronger sense of ongoing moisture in a location.

Usage notes include that märkässä is always followed by a noun in the inessive case to form a complete meaning, and the exact meaning depends on the noun it accompanies. It is common in descriptive writing, weather reports, and guidance related to outdoors, construction, and agriculture because it emphasizes current moisture conditions rather than a general quality of wetness.

Translations into English focus on the locative sense: “in the wet,” “in damp conditions,” or “wet/damp.” The concept is straightforward in Finnish grammar, illustrating how adjectives shift form to express location or state.