Ärsyttää

ärsyttää is a Finnish verb that means to irritate, annoy, or bother someone. It is used to describe stimuli, actions, or situations that provoke irritation or impatience. The thing that causes the irritation is typically the subject of the sentence, while the person who feels irritated is expressed as the object, usually in the partitive form such as minua, sinua, or häntä.

In use,ärsyttää is a common, everyday verb. Basic forms include present tense ärsyttää, past tense ärsytti, and the participle ärsyttänyt used in perfect constructions (for example, on ärsyttänyt “has irritated”). Examples: "Tämä melu ärsyttää minua." "Tuo käytös ärsytti minua eilen." "Tilanne on ärsyttänyt minua jo pitkään." "Minua ärsyttää tämä tilanne."

Nuance and synonyms: Ärsyttää conveys irritation or annoyance without necessarily implying anger. It is often softer or more casual than words like vihastuttaa (to infuriate) or raivostuttaa (to enrage). Related terms include häiritä (to disturb or bother generally) and kiusata (to tease). The choice depends on whether the irritation is due to a nuisance, a repeated behavior, or a more disruptive action.

Etymology and style: The verb is native to Finnish and widely used in informal and formal contexts. It appears in spoken language, writing, journalism, and literature. While highly versatile, it tends to express personal annoyance rather than moral judgment, and it often reflects subjective experience rather than objective harm.

See also: häiritä, kiusata, vihastuttaa.