sähköpostissa

Sähköpostissa is the inessive singular form of the Finnish noun sähköposti, meaning “in the email.” The base word sähköposti is a compound of sähkö (electric) and posti (mail) and refers to electronic mail. In Finnish, inessive forms indicate location, so sähköpostissa answers questions like “where is it?” in a sentence, for example: Sähköpostissa oli liite (There was an attachment in the email).

Etymology and usage: The term sähköposti is the standard Finnish word for electronic mail, borrowed and adapted from English-language concepts. In everyday Finnish, sähköposti is used in formal and informal contexts alike, and its inflected forms cover both location and other grammatical relationships. Sähköpostissa commonly appears in writing when one wants to specify something contained within the message text or its contents.

Forms and examples: Finnish uses several case endings for sähköposti. Other relevant forms include sähköpostiin (illative, into the email), sähköpostin (genitive, the email’s), and sähköposteissa (inessive plural, in the emails). Examples: Sähköpostiin tulikin vahvistuslinkki, Sähköpostin sisältö oli epäselvä, Vahvistus löytyi sähköpostista.

See also: The concept of email, electronic mail in Finnish terminology, and related terms such as sähköpostiviesti (email message). The terminology may vary with context, but sähköposti remains the standard term in Finnish.