Opettele

Opettele is a Finnish verb meaning to learn by practicing or to acquire a skill through repeated performance. It emphasizes the process of learning through doing rather than through theoretical study. The word is commonly used in instructional contexts, language learning materials, and everyday speech when talking about practicing a skill until it becomes proficient.

In usage, opettele often appears in imperative form to urge someone to start practicing, for example: Opettele lukemaan (Learn to read) or Opettele soittamaan pianoa (Learn to play the piano). The plural imperative is opetelkaa, used when addressing more than one person. The third person present form is opettelee, as in Hän opettelee uutta taitoa (He/she is learning a new skill).

Opettele is distinct from oppia, which broadly means to learn, and from opiskella, which means to study or to engage in formal study. It is particularly common in education, tutoring, and self-instruction contexts, where the focus is on acquiring practical competence through practice. Like other Finnish verbs, opettele forms vary by tense and subject, and is readily used with infinitive complements that describe the skill being learned, such as lukemaan (to read) or kirjoittamaan (to write).