Koitetaan

Koitetaan is a Finnish verb form used to express a collective intention to perform an action. It is the present passive form of the verb koittaa, meaning to try or to attempt, and functions as a soft, inclusive proposal equivalent to English “let’s try” or “we’ll try.” The form is commonly used in everyday speech as a way to invite cooperation or to propose trying something without asserting certainty.

In Finnish, koitetaan is the third-person present passive—the subject is not specified and is typically understood as “we” or “one.” The construction is built from the verb stem koita- plus the passive ending -taan/-ään, yielding koitetaan.

Usage notes: Koitetaan is most natural when the speaker wants to involve others. It can introduce a plan, a suggestion, or a tentative action. It is more neutral than the active imperative and can be used in both informal and formal contexts.

Examples: Koitetaan tehdä tämä yhdessä. (Let’s try to do this together.) Koitetaan nyt pysyä aikataulussa. (Let’s try to stay on schedule now.) Koitetaan saada se valmiiksi ennen määräaikaa. (Let’s try to finish it before the deadline.)

Synonyms and related forms include yritetään, which more explicitly denotes effort or attempt, and the volitional form koittakaamme, which also expresses “let us try” in a more emphatic register.