Täytyy

Täytyy is the present impersonal form of the Finnish verb täytyä, meaning to be necessary or to have to. It expresses obligation or necessity without an explicit subject, and it is used with a possessive pronoun to indicate who is obliged: minun täytyy, sinun täytyy, hänen täytyy, and so on. It can also convey logical deduction, as in “That must be true.”

In use, täytyy denotes something that is required by circumstances, rules, or practicality. Examples: “Minun täytyy mennä töihin” (I have to go to work), “Sinun täytyy olla varovainen” (You have to be careful), “Se täytyy olla totta” (That must be true). The sense is often stronger or more external than with softer modals like pitää or pitäisi, which express advice or a softer obligation.

Forms and related expressions: The present form täytyy is used for all persons and with the infinitive that follows, e.g., “minun täytyy lähteä.” The past tense is täytyi, meaning “had to” (e.g., “Minun täytyi lähteä eilen”). The conditional form is täytyisi (e.g., “Minun täytyisi mennä”), signaling a hypothetical or polite obligation. The negative is typically expressed with ei tarvitse rather than negating täytyä directly (e.g., “Minun ei tarvitse mennä” = I don’t have to go).

Compared expressions include on pakko (there is a must) and pitäisi (should/ought to). Täytyy remains a central, neutral way to state that something is necessary or obligatory in Finnish.