tukevaan

Tukevaan is the illative singular form of the Finnish adjective tukeva, meaning sturdy or robust. In Finnish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in case and number, and the illative case expresses movement toward or into something. As a result, tukevaan is used before a noun to describe a destination as being sturdy or robust.

Formation and usage: The illative suffix -an, among others, attaches to the adjective when the noun it modifies is in illative. This yields forms such as tukevaan taloon, which translates to into a sturdy house. The phrase typically appears in sentences describing direction or movement toward a noun described by the adjective. Adjectives in illative with -an/-ään are common in descriptive, spatial, or colloquial contexts, though Finnish often relies on the noun being in illative for the same meaning.

Examples: tukevaan taloon (into a sturdy house), tukevaan rakennukseen (into a sturdy building), tukevaan laatikkoon (into a sturdy box). These examples show how the illative form of the adjective accompanies the noun in illative to convey destination and the quality “sturdy” of the object.

Notes: Tukevaan is not a standalone noun; it is a grammatical form of the adjective tukeva used in combination with a noun in illative. It is one of several illative forms that allow speakers to specify direction toward a described object.

See also: tukeva (adjective), illative case, Finnish grammar.