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Questions & Answers about Kellari on alhaalla.
Why does alhaalla end in -lla? Isn't that the ending for 'on' or 'at'?
Yes, it is! The -lla ending is the adessive case (the 'on' or 'at' case). The word alhaalla is built from a root word for 'bottom' or 'under', so it literally means 'at the bottom' or 'down below'.
Could I use alhaalla to mean 'downstairs' in a house?
Absolutely. While it translates to 'down below' for a cellar, if you are talking about a two-story house, saying someone is alhaalla is the standard way to say they are 'downstairs'.
Since a cellar is a room, why is it kellari and not kellarissa?
We use the basic, unchanged form kellari here because the cellar is the subject of the sentence - it is the thing being described. You only use kellarissa if you are talking about something or someone located inside the cellar (like 'The box is in the cellar').
Is kellari related to the English word 'cellar'?
Yes! Finnish borrowed kellari from the Swedish word källare, which shares the exact same ancient roots as the English word 'cellar'. Spotting these loanwords makes building your vocabulary much easier!