Hymyillä

Hymyillä is a Finnish verb meaning to smile. It denotes the act of turning up the corners of the mouth and often displaying teeth, and it is used across social contexts to express friendliness, amusement, or politeness. The related noun is hymy, meaning "a smile."

Grammatical notes: hymyillä is intransitive and typically used with a recipient expressed in the allative case, as in hymyile hänelle (to smile at him/her) or hymyili ystävälleen (smiled at his/her friend). In the present tense the forms are minä hymyilen, sinä hymyilet, hän hymyilee, me hymyilemme, te hymyilette, he hymyilevät; in the past tense: minä hymyilin, sinä hymyilit, hän hymyili, me hymyilimme, te hymyilitte, he hymyilivät. The adverbial form hymyillen means "smilingly." The participial adjective is hymyilevä and the noun for the act is hymyileminen.

Usage: hymyillä is ubiquitous in everyday language and signals friendliness, agreement, or politeness. It can soften statements or ease social tension. Compared with nauraa (to laugh), hymyillä generally indicates milder or more controlled emotion and often serves social lubrication rather than strong emotion.

Etymology and related terms: the verb is derived from the noun hymy ("a smile"). The pair hymy and hymyillä is a common example of Finnish verb formation from a noun. Examples include: Hän hymyilee minulle; Minä hymyilin vilpittömästi.