sähköpostille

Sähköpostille is the allative form of the Finnish noun sähköposti, which means electronic mail or email. In Finnish grammar, the allative suffix -lle denotes direction toward a destination or recipient, so sähköpostille literally means “to the email” and is used to indicate the target of an action involving email.

The form is typically used in sentences that describe sending or directing information to an email address or the recipient’s email. For example, hän lähetti tiedot sähköpostilleen means “he sent the information to his/her email.” The compound form can also appear when distinguishing the email as the destination among several possible recipients.

In everyday Finnish, other expressions are more common for similar meanings. sähköpostitse means “via email” or “by email,” and sähköpostiin denotes “into the inbox” or “to the email.” Sähköpostille tends to appear in more formal or explicit references to the target of an action, especially where the destination is the recipient’s email account rather than merely the means of communication.

Etymology and usage notes: sähköposti is a compound of sähkö- (electric) and posti (mail). The allative suffix -lle attaches to form sähköpostille. The possessive form sähköpostilleen refers to someone’s own email, as in sending something to that person’s email account.

See also: sähköposti, sähköpostiosoite, sähköpostitse, Finnish grammar on cases and the allative.