-lla

See also lla

Finnish

Suffix

-lla (in words with back vowel harmony) -llä (in words with front vowel harmony)

1. Case suffix of the adessive case. Adessive is used in Finnish:
   1. to indicate position being on top of something, often equivalent to English "on"

      Pullo on pöydällä.

      The bottle is on the table.

   2. to indicate whereabouts, often equivalent to English "at"

      Olen huomenna toimistolla.

      I'll be at the office tomorrow.

   3. with the verb olla (“to be, to have”) to indicate ownership

      Minulla on kaunis talo.

      I have a beautiful house.

   4. with the verb olla (“to be, to have”) to describe feelings and sensations

      Minulla on nälkä.

      I'm hungry.

   5. to indicate instruments, often equivalent to English "with"

      Syön veitsellä ja haarukalla.

      I eat with a knife and fork.

   6. to indicate being with something, used mostly about food and drinks

      Kuppi kahvia kermalla.

      A cup of coffee with cream.

2. A deverbal suffix for creating frequentative verbs. The resulting verb often describes a more or less leisurely or long-lasting activity, or an activity that is not overly goal-oriented. Sometimes the logic is not obvious, though. An adaptive sound is required between the stem of the verb and the suffix, e.g. -e-, -i-, -eske-. Examples:

   käsittää (“to grasp, understand”) -> käsitellä (“to handle, process”)

   muistaa (“to remember”) -> muistella (“to think back, commemorate”)

   nostaa (“to lift”) -> nostella (“to lift repeatedly”)

   ostaa (“to buy”) -> ostella (“to shop”)

   rakastaa (“to love”) -> rakastella (“to make love”)

   savuttaa (“to smoke, to produce smoke”) -> savutella (“to smoke, to consume tobacco”)

   salata (“to keep secret”) -> salailla (“to be secretive”)

   purra (“to bite”) -> pureskella (“to chew”)

3. A denominal suffix to produce action verbs which denote an activity closely related with the noun.

   auto (“car”) -> autoilla (“to drive a car”)

   maja (“hut”) -> majailla (“to stay temporarily”)

   pallo (“ball”) -> palloilla (“to play a ballgame”)

Usage notes

• The case suffix is suffixed to the genitive stem.
• Some frequentative verbs are formed with the suffix -ia. See list of Finnish frequentative verbs for examples.

See also

• -lle (allative case)
• -lta (ablative case)