Väität

Väität is a second-person singular present indicative form of the Finnish verb väittää, which means to claim or to allege. In standard Finnish, väittä is used to attribute a statement or assertion to someone, functioning as a verb that expresses making a claim.

The base infinitive of the verb is väittää, and the noun form väite means "claim" or "assertion." The development from noun to verb is common in Finnish, with väittää sharing its semantic field with other claim-related words. The present tense forms include minä väitän (I claim), sinä väität (you claim), hän väittää (he/she claims), me väitämme (we claim), te väitätte (you all claim), he väittävät (they claim). Thus väität specifically corresponds to addressing a single listener.

Usage and nuance: väität is typically used to present a statement as something you or the interlocutor asserts. It can convey evaluation or challenge depending on context and intonation. It is common in everyday speech, debates, and reporting to attribute a claim to someone: “Sinä väität, että…” or simply “Väität…?” Example: "Miksi sinä väität, että tämä on oikea ratkaisu?" The verb carries the sense of presenting a viewpoint rather than merely recalling a fact.

Related forms and notes: The verb väittää has several related forms, including väittää, väittää vastaan (to dispute or contradict in context), and väitän, väität, väittää in various persons. The noun väite appears in phrases like "tämä on väite," meaning "this is a claim." Väität is specific to the second-person singular form in present tense and is part of everyday Finnish conjugation patterns.