Kukistamme

Kukistamme is a Finnish verb form meaning “we overthrow” or “we defeat.” It is the present indicative form of the verb kukistaa for the first-person plural, used when the subject is “we” and the action is happening in the present or as a general statement.

Etymology and morphology: Kukistamme is built from the stem kukista- plus the personal ending -mme, which marks the first-person plural. The infinitive kukistaa corresponds to the base verb “to overthrow” or “to defeat.” As a finite verb, kukistamme belongs to standard Finnish conjugation patterns for verbs that end in -istaa/-istaa in their stem. The past tense form is kukistimme (we overthrew).

Usage: The verb has a strong, forceful connotation, applicable to overthrowing a government or defeating an opponent, and can also be used metaphorically to describe overcoming obstacles. It requires a direct object, such as hallitus (the government) or sen (it). For example: “Me kukistamme hallituksen.” or “Me kukistamme sen nopeasti.” In everyday speech, speakers may choose milder terms like voittaa (to win) or päihittää (to defeat) when the political or violent nuance is undesirable.

Related forms: Other person and tense forms exist, e.g., kukistan (I overthrow), kukistat (you overthrow), kukistavat (they overthrow), kukistimme (we overthrew). The verb’s participles and other conjugated forms align with Finnish verb patterns for -istaa/verbs of this class.

See also: Finnish verbs, kukistaa.