Keittää

Keittää is a Finnish verb meaning "to boil", "to cook" or "to brew". It is used for heating liquids to boiling, preparing soups and other dishes, and making beverages such as coffee. The verb is also used figuratively in expressions relating to producing or stirring up something.

Grammatically, keittää is a type 1 verb (infinitive ending -tä). Typical forms include minä keitän (I boil/cook), hän keittää (he/she boils/cooks), me keitämme (we), and the past tense minä keitin. The passive is keitetään (it is boiled/people boil) and the past passive keitettiin; the past participle is keitetty.

Several common Finnish words derive from the same root: keitto (soup, boiled dish), keitin (cooker, coffee maker), keittäjä (one who cooks), and keittiö (kitchen). A close cognate appears in Estonian as keeta, reflecting a shared Finnic origin.

Usage ranges from literal culinary contexts—keittää vettä (to boil water), keittää kahvia (to make coffee)—to metaphorical senses in colloquial speech. The verb is central to everyday Finnish vocabulary because of the cultural importance of home cooking and coffee preparation.