Karkottaa

Karkottaa is a Finnish verb meaning to drive away, repel, expel, or deter. It can refer to physically removing something from a place, to discouraging unwanted behavior, or to banishing a person or group. In everyday use, it often describes removing pests or intruders, for example by scaring away birds or other animals. In legal and political contexts, karkottaa refers to expelling a person from a country, i.e., deportation.

In practice, karkottaa has both general and specialized uses. Common informal uses include driving away animals or nuisances from property, such as karkottaa linnut (to drive away birds). In immigration and asylum discussions, karkottaa means to expel an individual from the country, with related terms such as karkotus (the act of expulsion or deportation) and karkotettava (the person to be expelled). The verb can appear in various tenses and voices depending on the subject and context.

Grammatical notes: karkottaa is a transitive verb. Present tense forms are karkotan, karkotat, karkottaa, karkotamme, karkotatte, karkottavat. Past tense forms are karkotin, karkotit, karkotti, karkotimme, karkotitte, karkottivat. The perfect form is on karkottanut. Participle forms include karkotettu (expelled) and karkotettava (to be expelled). The adjective and noun derivatives include karkotus (expulsion/deportation) and karkotettava oliottomuuden ilmaisussa, among others.

Etymology: karkottaa is a native Finnish verb built on the root karkot-, with karkotus as its noun. It is widely used across registers, from everyday speech to official discourse, to describe removing or deterring someone or something.