yksinään

Yksinään is a Finnish adverb meaning “alone, by oneself.” It is used to describe a person who is by their own, without others present, or to emphasize that an action is performed in solitude. The term can refer to a person’s physical position (being alone in a place) or to the manner in which an action is carried out (doing something without company).

In usage, yksinään typically accompanies a verb or clause to highlight solitude. Examples include: Hän istui yksinään kahvilassa (He sat alone in the café), Hän kirjoitti yksinään koko päivän (He wrote alone the whole day), and Metsässä hän kulkee yksinään (In the forest he walks alone). The word often carries a nuance of introspection or independence, and it is common in both spoken Finnish and literary prose.

Yksinään is closely related to yksin, but the addition of -ään emphasizes the state of being solitary or acting without others. It contrasts with yhdessä (together) and with other phrases that describe company or companionship. While yksinään can function in many contexts, it tends to convey a stronger sense of solitude or self-reliance than the simpler yksin.

Etymologically, yksinään arises from the base word yksin (alone) with a suffix that intensifies the adverbial meaning, a pattern found in Finnish to mark the manner or state of an action. The term is widely used and understood in standard Finnish, appearing in everyday speech as well as in written texts.