Onnistuu

Onnistuu is a Finnish verb meaning to succeed or to manage to do something. It is the present tense form used for the third-person singular (he/she/it succeeds or it works). The verb is intransitive and typically describes achieving a result or making something possible. Commonly heard phrases include "Se onnistuu" (It succeeds / It works) and "Se onnistuu helposti" (It succeeds easily). The first-person singular past form is "onnistin" and the past participle is "onnistunut," as in "Olen onnistunut" (I have succeeded).

Etymology and related forms: Onnistuu comes from the verb onnis-tu-, which is linked to the Finnish noun onni (luck, fortune). The concept conveyed by onnistua is achieving a favorable or intended outcome, often through effort or circumstance. Related words include epäonnistua (to fail) as the negative counterpart, and the noun onnistuminen (success, achievement). Various conjugated forms extend across tenses and moods, such as "onnistuin" (I managed to) and "onnistumme" (we succeed).

Usage notes: Onnistua is used to express successful completion of activities, tasks, or plans. It can describe both personal success and the functioning of systems or processes. In negative statements, it takes forms like "ei onnistu" (it does not work / it is not possible) in present tense, or "ei onnistunut" in past tense. The phraseology is common in everyday Finnish as well as formal contexts, and it often appears with infinitives to indicate what was successfully accomplished, for example, "onnistua tekemään jotain" (to manage to do something).

See also: epäonnistua, onnistuminen, onnistu