Verbs Ending in -OTTAA and -OITTAA (ehdottaa kirjoittaa)
The difference between verbs ending in -OTTAA and -OITTAA (all verbtype 1 verbs) is actually something Finns have more trouble with than learners! This is due to the fact that, in spoken language, none of these verbs will have an –i-. People will say, for example, kirjottaa instead of kirjoittaa.
Should you care? I’m not sure! As a learner on Finnish, you are likely to just learn these verbs based on how they are written. As such, you will learn them with an –i– if they have one. As such, you won’t get used to the sometimes incorrect –ottaa used in spoken language. On the other side, if you have learned Finnish mainly through speaking, this page might offer you some insight in the issue.
1. Verbs ending in -oittaa
1.1. Stem word: two syllables, end in -a/-ä
Stem words of two syllables (e.g. kirja, aika) that end in –a/ä will usually get –oittaa when you derive a verb from them.
| Noun | Verb | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| kirja | kirjoittaa | to write |
| puna | punoittaa | to be red, blush |
| rauha | rauhoittaa | to soothe, appease |
| seka | sekoittaa | to mix |
| terä | teroittaa | to sharpen |
| haava | haavoittaa | to wound |
| mitta | mitoittaa | to measure up |
| aika | ajoittaa | to schedule |
1.2. Stem word: three or more syllables
In addition, all verbs that have three or more syllables when they’ve been derived will get –oittaa.
| Noun | Verb | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| autio | autioittaa | to depopulate |
| hedelmä | hedelmöittää | to fertilize |
| saippua | saippuoittaa | to soap up |
| hankala | hankaloittaa | to make more complicated |
| elävä | elävöittää | to revitalize |
| vaurio | vaurioittaa | to damage |
| vahinko | vahingoittaa | to harm, damage |
2. Verbs ending in -ottaa
2.1. Word stem: two syllables, ending in -o/ö
Verbs that have been derived from a noun of two syllables that end in –o/ö (e.g. helppo, sähkö) will have –ottaa.
| Noun | Verb | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| kiilto | kiillottaa | to polish, shine |
| tieto | tiedottaa | to report |
| ero | erottaa | to dismiss; to separate |
| pomo | pomottaa | to boss over |
| helppo | helpottaa | to facilitate; to alleviate |
| sähkö | sähköttää | to wire |
| himo | himottaa | to lust after |
| jakso | jaksottaa | to divide in parts |
| jauho | jauhottaa | to flour (a surface) |
| jörö | jöröttää | to mope |
2.2. Verbs that also have a similar verbtype 4 -ota-verb
Secondly, those verbs of which also exist a similar verb ending in –ota will also belong to this group.
| Noun | Verb | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| erota | erottaa | to dismiss; to separate |
| hajota | hajottaa | to scatter |
| inhota | inhottaa | to repulse |
| irrota | irrottaa | to detach, remove |
| lihota | lihottaa | to fatten |
2.2. Verbs without a clear word stem
In addition, most verbs that don’t have a clear stem word they’ve been derived from usually also have –ottaa.
Many of the following words have a noun connected to them (e.g. karkottaa : karkotus; kehottaa : kehotus; haukottaa : haukotus). However, it is likely that the noun has been fashioned after the verb rather than the other way around.
| Noun | Verb | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ? | ällöttää | to sicken |
| ? | yökättää | to sticken |
| ? | törröttää | to stick out |
| ? | toitottaa | to toot |
| ? | hekottaa | to laugh |
| ? | karkottaa | to expel, drive away |
| ? | haukottaa | to yawn |
| ? | helottaa | to beam (e.g. sun) |
| ? | häämöttää | to loom over |
| ? | kehottaa | to urge |
3. Exceptions
There are only a couple of exceptions. Many of these have just fossilized over time. The following words should end in -ottaa, but don’t: innoittaa (from the word into), and virvoittaa (from the verb virota).
On the other hand, the verb laiskottaa should have an –i– because it’s derived from the word laiska (a two-syllable word ending in –a as in part 1.1), but it doesn’t.
