Tahtomasti

Tahtomasti is a Finnish adverb meaning intentionally or on purpose. It describes actions performed with awareness and voluntary will, as opposed to actions done by accident. The word is formed from tahto, meaning will or intention, plus the adverbial suffix -masti. It is commonly used to distinguish deliberate actions from those that are unintentional, such as tahtomatta (unintentionally).

Grammatically, tahtomasti is used with verbs to indicate deliberate conduct. For example, Hän rikkoi säännön tahtomasti means He broke the rule on purpose. The expression appears in everyday language as well as in written Finnish, including journalism, literature, and legal or formal prose. Its meaning is generally clear to native speakers and does not require additional qualifiers to convey intentionality.

In usage, tahtomasti emphasizes that the actor made a conscious choice or was aware of the consequences, rather than acting by accident or negligence. It can be contrasted with tahtomatta, which signals lack of intention. Some contexts may also employ related forms such as tahallinen (intentional) or tahallisesti (intentionally) to convey similar ideas with nuanced emphasis.

See also: tahto; tahtomatta; tahallinen; tahallisesti.