arvaamalla

Arvaamalla is a Finnish adverbial participle (gerund) formed from the verb arvailla, meaning to guess or to suppose. It expresses the manner in which an action is performed and is commonly translated as “by guessing” or “through guessing.” It is used to indicate that the speaker or subject relied on guesswork rather than certain knowledge.

Formation and use: The form is created by attaching the adverbial participle suffix -malla/-mällä to the verb stem arvailla, yielding arvaamalla. In clauses, the subject of the gerund phrase is usually the same as the main clause’s subject, and the construction functions as an adverbial modifier of manner. For example: “Hän ratkaisi tehtävän arvaamalla” means he solved the task by guessing; “Opiskelija vastasi arvaamalla” means the student answered by guessing.

Nuance and relation to related forms: Arvailla conveys uncertainty and informal reasoning. It is distinct from more formal deduction or calculation. The noun forms arvaaminen or arvaus refer to the act or result of guessing. The related verb arvata means to guess or suppose in a more general sense. Arvaamalla thus highlights guesswork as the means of achieving an outcome, rather than a certain method.

See also: arvaus, arvaaminen, arvailla, arvata.