arvailla

Arvailla is a Finnish verb meaning to guess, speculate or conjecture. It conveys making a tentative or uncertain judgment rather than asserting a fact, and in English is commonly rendered as "to guess", "to speculate" or "to suppose". The noun forms arvaus (a guess) and arvailu (speculation) are closely related.

As a verb, arvailla often implies repeated, tentative or tentative-minded action and is frequently used in everyday conversation when speakers indicate uncertainty. It is frequently contrasted with arvata, which can signal a single decisive guess; arvailla tends to emphasize hesitation or ongoing conjecture. The verb appears in colloquial and formal registers alike, depending on context, and can be used with clauses or objects to express guesses about people, events, numbers and motivations.

Morphologically, arvailla is derived from the root behind arvata and participates in Finnish verb patterns that express iterative or attenuated aspects through the -illa/-ellä element. Related vocabulary includes arvaus (guess), arvailu (speculating) and arvaamaton (unpredictable).

Common contexts for arvailla include everyday conversation, journalism and academic writing when authors present hypotheses or uncertain interpretations, as well as leisure activities such as guessing games. Its use signals that a statement is provisional and open to correction.