Kärsiä

Kärsiä is a Finnish verb meaning to suffer, to endure pain, hardship, or misfortune. It covers both physical suffering, such as illness or injury, and emotional or moral distress, or situations experienced as adverse. The term is used of humans and animals and can be employed both literally and metaphorically to describe enduring difficult circumstances or unfavorable conditions.

In usage, kärsiä commonly appears with nouns indicating the source or cause of the suffering, often in cases that convey the idea of “from” or “due to” that condition. Typical constructions include phrases such as kärsii kipua or kärsii nälkää, where the noun expresses pain or hunger and the verb denotes ongoing or acute suffering. The verb can describe ordinary discomfort as well as long‑lasting struggle, for example in expressions about illness, poverty, injustice, or emotional strain.

Grammatically, kärsiä is a native Finnish verb that forms finite and non‑finite forms like other Finnish verbs. Its related noun is kärsimys (suffering), and several adjectives and nouns derive from the same root, such as kärsivällinen (patient, tolerant) and kärsimyksen (of suffering). The concept also yields common collocations in literature and everyday speech, where it often contrasts endurance with resilience or endurance under hardship.

See also: kärsimys, kipu, sairaus, ahdistus, kärsivällisyys.