Rasittaa

Rasittaa is a Finnish verb meaning to strain, burden, or exhaust. It can describe applying physical or mental load to a person, a body part, an object, or a system, and it can also denote causing fatigue, tiredness, or stress. The sense can be physical (rasittaa lihaksia, rasittaa polvia), sensory (rasittaa silmiä), or psychological/emotional (rasittaa hermoja, rasittaa mieltä). The noun rasitus, related to the verb, denotes a load, strain, or stress, and is widely used in medicine, physiology, engineering, and everyday language.

The verb is transitive and typically combines with a direct object in the partitive or accusative, for example rasittaa lihaksia, rasittaa polvia, or rasittaa silmiä. The reflexive form rasittua means to become tired, worn out, or strained, as in situations where work or strain accumulates. The adjective rasittava describes something that is taxing or tiresome, and rasitus is a common noun for fatigue or load.

Rasittaminen is a nominal form used in some contexts to denote the act of causing strain, though rasitus is often preferred for technical usage. In everyday language, rasittaa typically conveys a sense of burden or fatigue more than a mere physical load, whereas kuormittaa is a closely related synonym with a more neutral or technical nuance.

See also: Rasitus; Kuormitus; Rasittaminen; Rasittava.