Nyökkää

Nyökkää is a Finnish verb meaning to nod, that is, to move the head up and down as a sign of assent, acknowledgement, or greeting. The action is a common nonverbal signal used in conversation to indicate agreement, understanding, or to acknowledge what has been said.

The verbs in Finnish are conjugated regularly, and nyökkää follows the standard pattern. In the present tense, minä nyökkään, sinä nyökkäät, hän nyökkää. The past tense is nyökkäsi, and the participle forms include nyökkätty (past passive) and nyökkäänyt (past active). The noun forms related to the action include nyökkääminen, referring to the act of nodding, and nyökkäys, a nod or instance of nodding.

Usage and nuance: nyökkää is used both to signal agreement and to acknowledge information without speaking. It can accompany other actions, such as greeting or listening, and may vary in intensity from a small head dip to a more noticeable nod. In written Finnish, nyökkää and nyökkäys are used in descriptions of behavior, while nyökkääminen often appears as a general term for the act of nodding.

Examples: Hän nyökkää ystävälleen kiitoksena. (He nods to a friend as a sign of thanks.) Hän nyökkäsi ymmärtäneensä. (He nodded, indicating that he understood.) Nyökkääminen is also used to describe the habitual or repeated action of nodding.

See also: nyökkäys, nyökkääminen. This verb is a standard part of everyday Finnish and appears across formal and informal contexts to convey consent, acknowledgment, or greeting nonverbally.