päätyyn

Päätyyn is a Finnish noun form that comes from pääty, meaning end, edge, or the end part of something. In its base sense, pääty can refer to the finished or outermost part of an object, such as the end wall of a building (the gable) or an end piece on furniture or equipment. When the illative suffix -yn is attached, the word becomes päätyyn, indicating movement toward or into the end or inner part of something. In other words, päätyyn marks direction to the end rather than merely the end itself.

As a grammatical form, päätyyn is the illative case serving to answer questions like mihin? where to? or into where? It is used with nouns to describe going toward a particular end or reaching the interior of that end. For example, rakennuksen päätyyn would translate roughly as “to the end of the building” or “into the end part of the building,” depending on context. The illative can also appear in phrases meaning movement toward or reaching an end point in figurative speech, such as progressing to the final part of a process or sequence.

In usage, päätyyn can appear alongside other illative constructions to convey spatial or metaphorical direction. It is one of several Finnish illative forms derived from a noun and demonstrates how direction toward a terminal part is encoded in Finnish grammar. See also the related noun pääty and the illative case in Finnish grammar.