Distributive case - Definition and Overview

This case in Hungarian language can express the manner when something happens to each member of a set one by one (eg. "per head", "in each case"), or the frequency in time ("once a week", "every ten minutes").

In Finnish, this case is rare and even rarer in singular. Its ending is -ttain/-ttäin. The basic meaning is "separately for each". For example, maa "country" becomes maittain for an expression like Laki ratifioidaan maittain., or "The law is ratified separately in each country"). It can be used to distribute the action to frequent points in time, e.g. päivä (day) has the plural distributive päivittäin (each day).

It can mean also "in/with regard to the (cultural) perspective" when combined with a word referring to an inhabitant (-lais-). Frequently Finns (suomalaiset) say that suomalaisittain tuntuu oudolta, että ..., or "in the Finnish perspective, it feels strange that ...".