Voisittekö

Voisittekö is a Finnish polite question form used to make requests. It is based on the verb voida (to be able to) in the conditional mood and is typically employed to address one person formally or a group, depending on context. The phrase softens requests and is common in service interactions, emails, and everyday conversation when politeness is desired.

Grammatically, voisittekö is formed from the conditional stem of voida and a second-person plural pronoun with a question particle. In practice, the exact form varies slightly depending on whether the speaker is addressing a single person politely or multiple people. The most common related variants are voisitko (singular informal) and voisitteko (plural or formal). All variants share the function of turning a statement into a courteous question.

Usage notes, examples, and tone:

- Voisittekö kertoa, missä kirjasto sijaitsee? (Could you tell me where the library is?)

- Voisitko auttaa minua? (Could you help me?) — informal singular

- Voisitteko jättää tämän pöydälle? (Could you please leave this on the table?) — plural or formal

Context and register:

Voisittekö is widely used in both spoken and written Finnish to make requests without sounding demanding. It is appropriate in customer service, professional communication, and everyday interaction when respect or formality is desired. For more casual situations, the singular voisitko is typically preferred.