Onnistu

Onnistu is the imperative form of the Finnish verb onnistua, meaning to succeed or to manage to do something. It is used to encourage someone to achieve a task or to indicate that someone should go ahead and accomplish what is being attempted. As an intransitive verb, onnistua often appears with infinitives or clauses that specify the task.

Etymology and related forms: The verb stem derives from onni, meaning luck, combined with a productive suffix that gives a sense of turning luck into success. Related terms include the adjective onnellinen (lucky) and the noun onni (luck, happiness). The infinitive is onnistua; present tense forms are minä onnistun, sinä onnistut, hän onnistuu, me onnistumme, te onnistutte, he onnistuvat.

Usage and examples: Onnistu is commonly used with constructions that express success in performing a task. For example: Hän onnistui ratkaisemaan ongelman. (He managed to solve the problem.) Minä onnistuin löytämään avaimen. (I managed to find the key.) It is also used with jossakin to mean “to manage in a situation,” or with tekemään jotakin to mean “to manage to do something,” as in Onnistu siinä! (Get it done / You can do it.) The imperative singular is onnistu, and the plural is onnistukaa. A negative form can be expressed as älä onnistu! (Don’t manage to do that!), with plural as älkää onnistuko.

See also: Onni, onnistuminen (the act of succeeding), and Finnish language resources such as Kielitoimisto dictionaries for further reference.