Silmäili

Silmäili is the third-person singular imperfect form of the Finnish verb silmäillä, meaning to glance at, eye, or skim. The sense is typically brief and superficial, as opposed to thorough or deliberate inspection. It can refer to looking at people, objects, or texts with mild interest or curiosity.

Silmäillä is used for both physical looking and more casual scanning. Common contexts include browsing storefronts, glancing through a page, or surveying one’s surroundings with a quick look. In narrative, silmäili often conveys a moment of quick, noncommittal observation rather than careful study. A related sense is skimming a text, where the observer takes in surface details rather than reading in depth.

Grammatically, silmäillä is a regular Finnish verb. The past tense forms include silmäili (he/she glanced) and silmäilit (you glanced). The present tense forms include silmäilee (he/she glances) and silmäilen (I glance). The infinitive is silmäillä, and a common noun form is silmäily, referring to the act of glancing.

Etymology and usage notes: silmäillä is built from silmä, meaning eye, with a verbal suffix. The term is distinct from verbs that denote deeper examination, such as tutkia (to investigate) or tutkia thoroughly, and it often carries a sense of casual, passing observation. Examples: Hän silmäili lehden sivuja kiireesti. He glanced over the pages of the magazine quickly. Hän silmäili kadun varteen, etsien paikkaa kahvilalle. He scanned the street edge, looking for a café.