Kalastaa

Kalastaa is a Finnish verb meaning to fish, i.e., to catch fish from a body of water. It covers both recreational and commercial fishing and is used to describe the act of using fishing gear such as a rod and line, nets, or traps. The term is common in everyday Finnish and appears in both spoken and written language.

Usage and forms: Kalastaa is a transitive verb that takes a direct object naming the fish or water body being fished, for example kalastaa lohta (to fish for salmon) or kalastaa ahventa (to fish perch). In standard Finnish, present tense forms are: minä kalastan, sinä kalastat, hän kalastaa; me kalastamme, te kalastatte, he kalastavat. Imperfect (past) forms: kalastin, kalastit, kalasti; kalastimme, kalastitte, kalastivat. The infinitive is kalastaa; present active participle kalastaen; past participle kalastanut.

Related terms and nuance: The word is often accompanied by related nouns such as kalastus (fishing as an activity or industry) and kalastaja (fisherman). The verb is used in various contexts to discuss fishing as a pastime, as well as commercial or subsistence fishing, and it appears across different regional varieties of Finnish.

See also: kalastus, kalastaja. The term forms part of a broader Finnish vocabulary describing fishing practices and is frequently encountered in everyday language, outdoors writing, and discussions of Finnish culture and nature.