päin

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Finnish

Etymology

The instructive plural of pää. Compare Ingrian päin, päi, Karelian päin (North and South Karelian), Livvi päi, Ludian päi, Veps päi and Votic päi (possibly from another Finnic language).

Pronunciation

Preposition

päin

  1. against, towards, -wards, to (indicating movement or direction straight towards something)
    Synonyms: kohden, kohti, vastaan
    ajaa päin punaisiato jump the reds (literally, “to drive against the reds”)
    törmätä päin puuta (alternatively: törmätä puuhun)to crash against a tree
    Sanoin sen hänelle suoraan päin naamaa.I said it right to her face.

Postposition

päin

  1. against, towards, -wards, to (indicating movement or direction straight towards something)
    Synonyms: kohden, kohti, vastaan
    ajaa punaisia päinto jump the reds (literally, “to drive against the reds”)
    törmätä puuta päin (alternatively: törmätä puuhun)to crash against a tree
    Auto tuli suoraan minua päin.The car drove straight towards me.
    Olemme menossa parempia aikoja päin.We are heading towards better times.
  2. towards, to, -wards, for (indicating the direction of change)
    Hän kääntyi minuun päin ja sanoi...He turned to me and said...
    Tämä on selvä muutos parempaan päin.This is a clear change for the better.
    Sairas on toipumaan päin.The patient is getting better. (literally, “The patient is towards healing.”)
    Vaimo on pieniin päinMy wife is expecting a baby. (literally, “My wife is towards little ones.”)
  3. Used to indicate approximate direction or location; multiple translations into English are possible; may not correspond to any word in the English translation if the direction is indicated in some other way.
    tänne päin (also tännepäin)this way, in this direction
    ylös päin (also ylöspäin)up, upwards
    jossakin päin Suomeasomewhere in Finland
    jossain tuolla päinsomewhere in that direction
    Turussa päinsomewhere near Turku
    Tuulee mereltä päin.The wind blows from (the direction of) the sea.
    Mistä päin Yhdysvaltoja olet kotoisin?Whereabouts in the United States are you from?
    Meillä päin tuollaisia ihmisiä kutsutaan poroiksi.Where I live that sort of people are called reindeer.
    Ikkuna on kadulle päin.The window is facing the street.
    Vastauksesi ei ole sinne päinkään.Your answer is not even close. (literally, “Your answer is not even in that direction.”)
    Lähden juuri ajamaan Helsinkiin päin.I'm just starting to drive towards Helsinki.

Adverb

päin

  1. way, side (up) (indicating position, status, etc.)
    toisin päinthe other way round
    miten päin tahansawhichever way
    oikein päinthe right side up
    Kummin päin tämä osa kuuluu?Which way does this part go back in?
    Asiat kääntyivät lopulta parhain päin.In the end the things turned out the best way possible.

Usage notes

See -päin for use as a suffix.

Derived terms

Noun

päin

  1. instructive plural of pää
    verissä päinwith one's head bleeding
    paljain päinwith a bare head [i.e. without a hat or any other headwear on]
    kasapäinheapmeal; in abundance

Further reading

Ingrian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Instructive plural of pää (head).

Pronunciation

Adverb

päin

  1. Indicates an approximate direction: towards, -wards
    • 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by P. I. Maksimov and N. A. Iljin, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun neljättä klaassaa vart (toine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 4:
      Lounaesse päin Barentsan merelt antiijaa materikkaa Valkia meri.
      Towards the south of the Barents Sea the White Sea cuts into the mainland.

Preposition

päin (+ genitive)

  1. (of motion) towards

Postposition

päin (+ partitive)

  1. (of motion) towards
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

päin

  1. Alternative spelling of päinnä

References

  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 449
  • Olga I. Konkova, Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку, →ISBN, page 15