vaille

See also: väille

Finnish

Etymology

Allative of the root vai- / vaja- related to vajaa.

Postposition

vaille (+ partitive)

1. (temporal) to, till

   Kello on viisi minuuttia vaille kuusi.

   It's five minutes to six.

   Kello on viittä vaille kuusi.

   It's five to six.

   Onko kello jo kolme? -Ei, se on viittä vaille.

   Is it already three o'clock? -No, it's five to.

Usage notes

• Note that grammatically, the postposition vaille takes the time left (five minutes) as its complement phrase, unlike the English preposition to that takes the moment in future (six) as its complement phrase.

Related terms

• vailla

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio (CAN):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aj

Verb

vaille

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of valoir

Anagrams

• veilla, viella