Lyödään

Lyödään is the present passive form of the Finnish verb lyödä, which means to hit, strike, or beat. In Finnish, the passive voice is used to describe actions where the agent performing the action is unknown, unimportant, or general. Therefore, lyödään can translate roughly as “it is hit,” “is being struck,” or, in impersonal contexts, simply “are/has been hit,” depending on the sentence.

Morphology and usage: The form is created from the verb stem lyö- with the suffix -dään, yielding lyödään. The passive does not require an explicit subject; the agent may be omitted or stated with a separate phrase. Lyödään is common in everyday language, news reporting, instructions, and general statements where the actor is not specified. It can also function as an impersonal construction in certain colloquial expressions, such as proposals or bets.

Common contexts and examples:

- Munat lyödään kulhoon. (Eggs are beaten/whisked into the bowl.)

- Kädet lyödään yhteen. (Hands are clapped together.)

- Lyödään vetoa siitä, kuka voittaa. (Let’s bet on who will win.)

Notes: The exact meaning of lyödään depends on context, particularly what is being hit and who performs the action. It is also used in fixed phrases, such as the idiomatic Lyödään vetoa, meaning “Let’s bet.”

See also: lyödä.