Finnish for busy people

Vierekkäin Kasvokkain – Adverbs ending in -KKAIN

This article gives you an overview of Finnish adverbs ending in -kkain/-kkäin. These adverbs express what symmetrical position two things are in relative to each other. This form is applied to only a limited number of words.

Inflected forms are mostly singular, but some words have also a plural form. I’m listing both with a separate example sentence, but they are interchangeable (e.g. silmäkkäin and silmikkäin, pääkkäin and päikkäin, nurkakkain and nurkikkain).

Some sources call this form the situatiivi, and refer to the adverbs that are thus created as resiprookkiadverbit “reciprocal adverbs”. This isn’t the only way to create reciprocal adverbs. Muoto-opin keruuopas lists the following endings: -kkain, -ttain, -tusten, -tusta(an), -tuksin, -kkata, -kkaisin, -kkaisen, -kkaiseen, -kkeen, -kkei(n), -ttaisin, -ksu(t)ta, -ksu(t)ten, -ksutta(isin), -skuttai(si)n, -stuten, -(i)si(i)n.

In this article, we will focus on adverbs ending in -kkAin, though you can find some information on some of the other forms near the bottom of this article.

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  1. Adverbs based on body parts
  2. Adverbs based on postpositions
  3. Adverbs based on nouns
  4. Syntax of -kkain/kkäin adverbs
  5. Easier (more roundabout) phrases
  6. Synonyms -tusten, -tuksin, -ttain
  7. Adjectives -kkAinen

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1. Adverbs Based on Body Parts

The words in this category are all based on body parts. They express how the body parts of two people are situated in relation to one another. For example, if you’re sitting kasvokkain (from kasvot “face”), it means you’re facing one another: you’re face-to-face.

Some of these are quite logical in English (e.g. side by side, head to head, eye to eye). However, the analogy can get stretched further in Finnish than in English: you can, for example, sit nose-to-nose, using either the word nenä or nokka. The default meaning of the word nokka is not so much “nose” as “beak”, but it’s also used to talk about a person’s nose or a car’s front bumper.

Sometimes these words are less transparent. The word kaulakkain (from kaula “neck”) doesn’t mean that our necks are facing each other, but rather than we are standing side by side with our arm over the neck of the other person. There’s a helpful picture here.

The word sylikkäin (from syli “lap”) can mean several things. We could use it when two people are spooning in bed, or when one person is sitting in the other one’s lap while facing the other.

Base Finnish English
kasvot Istutaan kasvokkain näin. Let’s sit face-to-face like this.
kaula He istuivat kaulakkain. They sat holding each other’s shoulders.
kylki He makasivat kyljekkäin. They lay side by side.
käsi Kävelimme käsikkäin. We walked hand in hand.
käsi Rikkaus ja onni eivät kulje käsikkäin Wealth and happiness don’t go hand in hand.
nenä Istuimme nenäkkäin. We sat face-to-face.
nokka Autot törmäsivät suoraan nokakkain. The cars collided front-to-front.
nokka Istuimme nokakkain. We sat face-to-face.
nokka Istuimme nokikkain. We sat face-to-face.
olka He seisoivat rivissä olakkain. They stood in a row shoulder-to-shoulder.
pää Laitoin pöydät pääkkäin. I put the tables head-to-head.
pää Kaksi henkilöautoa ajoi päikkäin Two passenger cars drove head-to-head.
selkä Aseta tuolit seläkkäin. Put the chairs back-to-back.
selkä Istuimme selikkäin. We sat back-to-back.
silmä Mies joutui karhun kanssa silmäkkäin. The man had to face a bear eye-to-eye.
silmä Haluan kohdata ihmiset silmikkäin. I want to meet people eye-to-eye.
silmä Jouduin silmikkäin kuoleman kanssa. I came eye-to-eye with death.
syli Rakastavaiset makasivat sylikkäin. The lovers lay in each other’s arms.

2. Adverbs Based on Postpositions

Postpositions like lähellä, päälle and perässä express the location of something (e.g. Laitan kirjan television päälle. “I put a book on top of the television”).

When we add -kkAin to these postpositions, we’re expressing the location of two things in relation to one another. For example, vieressä means “next to” (Istun sinun vieressä “I sit next to you”). Using vierekkäin expresses that the location is reciprocal: Istuimme vierekkäin “We sit next to one another”.

Likewise, Juoksen hänen perässä means “I run after him”, while He juoksivat peräkkäin means “The ran after one another (in a row)”.

Base Finnish English
alla Sanat olivat alakkain. The words were one below the other.
alle Sanat olivat alekkain. The words were one below the other.
alle Kaiverrukset olivat allekkain. The ingravings were one below the other.
päälle Hän laittoi kirjat päällekkäin. She put the book on top of one another.
päälle Tilaisuudet menevät päällekkäin. The events overlapped.
sisällä Lasit voi laittaa sisäkkäin. You can put the glass in one another.
vieressä Istumme vierekkäin. We sit side by side.
likellä He seisoivat kaikki likekkäin hetkeksi. They all stood close to each other for a moment.
lähellä Ollaan hetki vain ihan lähekkäin. Let’s just be really close for a moment.
lähellä Ajallisesti viestit tulivat hyvin lähekkäin. The messages arrived really close in time.
vastapäätä Istumme junassa vastakkain. We sit across from one another on the train.
vastapäätä Olimme napit vastakkain. We couldn’t agree, had opposing views.
vastapäätä Joukkueet olivat vastakkain. The teams were facing each other.
rinnalla Laivat ovat laiturissa rinnakkain. The ships are side by side.
rinnalla Kirja ja äänite ilmestyvät rinnakkain. The book and the audio are published in parallel.
rinnalla Talot rakennettiin rinnakkain rantaan. The houses were built side by side on the beach.
perässä He marssivat sisään peräkkäin. They marched inside one after the other.
perässä Voitin kolmatta vuotta peräkkäin. I won for the third year in a row.
jäljessä Kaksi miestä hiihtää jäljekkäin. Two men were skiing one after the other.
kohdalla Viivat ovat kohdakkain. The lines are aligned, meet one another.

3. Adverbs Based on Nouns

Nouns that express the side or surface of something are also naturally suitable to be made into adverbs ending in -kkAin. These can be a bit of a stretch if you come from an English background. A clear example is seinä “wall”. Rooms have walls, so if the walls of two rooms are “facing one another”, it means that they’re wall-to-wall. Another clean one is ristikkäin (from risti “cross”): you can sit with your legs crossed.

For some of the other ones below, you will have to use more of your imagination. For example, nurkikkain (from nurkka “corner”) could be translated as corner-to-corner. Imagine three buildings, which are built so that one of their corners touches the corner of one of the others. We can place these buildings in a U-shape, which will leave them corner-to-corner. We can do so with tents as well, to create a circle-like shape.

Base Finnish English
sivu Kirjat olivat sivukkain rivissä. The books were side-by-side in a row.
raja Tilat ovat rajakkain. The spaces are bordering, adjoining.
nurkka Herrat asuivat nurkakkain. The gentlemen lived corner-to-corner.
nurkka Talot ovat nurkikkain U:n muodossa. The houses were corner-to-corner in a U-form.
pinta Valota kuvat pinnakkain. Expose the pictures surface to surface.
seinä Meillä on seinäkkäin olevat huoneet. We have rooms that are wall to wall.
risti Istuin jalat ristikkäin. I sat with my legs crossed.
risti Tiet kulkevat ristikkäin. The road crisscross each other.
tasan Paperin reunat ovat tasakkain. The edges of the paper line up with each other.

4. Syntax of -kkain/-kkäin Adverbs

It’s interesting to note that these adverbs can both express a static symmetric reciprocal location and a movement in such location. Often we can use the same word in both situations.

For example, Istumme vierekkäin “We sit side by side” refers to a static location, while Menemme istumaan vierekkäin “We go and sit side by side” refers to a movement to said position.

In some cases, the form of the adverb could lead us towards a wrong conclusion. For example, päällekkäin has -lle in the middle, which is the mihin form (päällä : päältä : päälle). However, päällekkäin is used to refer to both a static location (e.g. Kirjat olivat pöydällä päällekkäin “The books were on the table on top of one another”) and a movement (e.g. Laita kirjat päällekkäin. “Put the books on top of one another”)

5. Easier (More Roundabout) Phrases

Below, I’m listing ways to say these adverbs in a more roundabout way. You might find these slightly easier. Some tendencies arise from the table below.

-KKAIN Phrase
alakkain toinen toisensa alla
allekkain toinen toisensa alle
jäljekkäin toinen toisensa jälkeen
kasvokkain kasvot vastakkain
kaulakkain kädet toistensa kaulassa
kohdakkain toistensa kohdalla
kyljekkäin kylki kyljessä
käsikkäin käsi kädessä
limikkäin osaksi päällekkäin
lomakkain/lomikkain toinen toisensa välissä
lähekkäin lähellä toisiaan
nenäkkäin nenät vastakkain
nokakkain nokat vastakkain
nokikkain nokat vastakkain
nurkakkain/nurkikkain nurkat vastakkain
olakkain olkapäät vastakkain
peräkkäin toistensa perään
pinnakkain pinta pintaa vasten
pääkkäin/päikkäin päät vastakkain
päällekkäin toinen toisensa päällä/päälle
rinnakkain rinta rinnan; toistensa rinnalla
ristikkäin ristissä, ristiin
seinäkkäin vierekkäin toisissaan kiinni
seläkkäin/selikkäin selkä selkää vasten
silmäkkäin/silmikkäin toisiansa silmiin katsoen
sisäkkäin toinen toisensa sisässä/sisään
sylikkäin toisensa sylissä
tasakkain toistensa kanssa tasassa
vastakkain toisiaan vastapäätä
vierekkäin vieri vieressä / vieri viereen

6. Synonyms -tusten, -tuksin, -ttain

The following table includes synonyms for adverbs ending in -kkain. The words limittäin, lomittain, sivuttain and päittäin are much more common than their -kkAin alternative. I’m not marking any of the other words in any way according to how common they are. Some of them may only be used in certain dialects. If I wasn’t able to find a synonym that fits into the categories below, I have marked them with a dash.

It’s important to note that there are many more words ending in -ttain! I’m only listing the ones that are related to one of the adverbs ending in -kkain. I have a separate article on adverbs ending in -ttain.

-KKAIN -TUSTEN -TUKSIN -TTAIN
alakkain alatusten
allekkain alletusten
jäljekkäin jäljetysten jäljetyksin
kasvokkain kasvotusten kasvotuksin
kaulakkain kaulatusten kaulatuksin
kohdakkain kohdatusten kohdatuksin
kyljekkäin kyljitysten kuljittäin
käsikkäin käsitysten käsityksin
limikkäin limitysten limityksin limittäin
lomakkain/lomikkain lomitusten lomatuksin lomittain
lähekkäin lähetysten lähetyksin lähettäin
nenäkkäin nenätysten
nokakkain nokatusten
nokikkain nokitusten nokittain
nurkakkain/nurkikkain nurkitusten nurkittain
peräkkäin perätysten perätyksin perättäin
pääkkäin/päikkäin päätysten päittäin
päällekkäin päälletysten
rajakkain rajatusten rajatuksin rajattain
rinnakkain rinnatusten
ristikkäin ristitysten ristittäin
seinäkkäin seinätysten seinätyksin
seläkkäin/selikkäin selätysten selätyksin selittäin
silmäkkäin/silmikkäin silmätysten silmätyksin
sivukkain sivutuksin sivuttain
sylikkäin sylitysten
vierekkäin vieretysten vieretyksin vierettäin
vastakkain vastatusten vastatuksin

7. Adjectives -kkAinen

Some of these adverbs ending in -kkain have also been made into adjectives, which end in -kkainen/kkäinen. I will be listing the T-plural form of these adjectives, because this is the form you will be using.

-KKAIN Adjective English
allekkain allekkaiset rivit the listed rows
lähekkäin lähekkäiset kylät the nearby villages
peräkkäin peräkkäiset vuoset the consecutive years
päällekkäin päällekkäiset laatikot the stacked boxes
rajakkain rajakkaiset tontit the bordering plots
rinnakkain rinnakkaiset sängyt the parallel beds
ristikkäin ristikkäiset viillot the crossed incisions
seinäkkäin seinäkkäiset naapurit the wall-to-wall neighbors
sisäkkäin sisäkkäiset ympyrät the nested circles
vastakkain vastakkaiset seinät the opposite walls
vierekkäin vierekkäiset talot the adjoining houses

Read more elsewhere

  • Muoto-opin keruuopas: Resiprookkiadverbit (pages 175-177) This pagelists many more examples than I’ve included in this article. I’ve limited the ones I’ve decided to add based on Kielitoimiston sanakirja. This way, I have attempted to exclude the very rare or unsual -kkAin adverbs.
  • VISK: kkAin-, tUsten- ja tUksin-sanojen rakenne ja merkitys
  • The song Tavallinen päivä by Edu Kettunen has one example of this form: rinnakkain in the last sentence of the lyrics, which I’ve analyzed here.

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