Kestäisi

Kestäisi is the present conditional form of the Finnish verb kestää, meaning to endure, last, or withstand. It expresses hypothetical action or a polite, softened assertion and is typically translated as "would endure" or "would withstand" in English. The form is used for third-person singular subjects (for example, hän kestäisi) or in clauses indicating a condition or hypothetical situation (such as Jos se kestäisi…).

Usage notes include that kestäisi appears in conditional clauses to express what would happen under certain circumstances. It can also be used in reported speech or wishes to convey a hypothetical statement. The verb stems from kestää and shares its base with related adjectives and nouns such as kestävä (durable, sustainable) and kestävyys (endurance, durability).

Examples:

- Hän sanoi, että hän kestäisi tämän. (He said that he would endure this.)

- Se kestäisi kauan, jos se toimisi. (It would take a long time if it worked.)

Grammatical forms related to kestäisi include the broader verb kestää (present tense: kestää; past tense: kesti) and other conditional or mood forms such as minä kestäisin (I would endure) and sinä kestäisit (you would endure). In everyday Finnish, kestäisi is most commonly encountered in hypothetical or reported contexts rather than as a straightforward present tense statement.

Etymology and related terms: kestää comes from a root shared with other kestä- words; kestävä and kestävyys derive from the same semantic core of endurance and durability. These terms appear across Finnish descriptions of physical endurance, time duration, and the capacity to withstand stress.