epäilin

Epäilin is the first-person singular past tense form of the Finnish verb epäillä, meaning to doubt or to suspect. The core sense is to feel uncertainty about the truth, reliability, or appropriateness of something, such as a statement, a claim, or an event. The verb covers both skepticism about factual accuracy and suspicion regarding motives or veracity.

In use, epäillä often governs subordinate clauses introduced by että, or it can take a direct object in partitive or genitive when expressing doubt about a claim or account. Common constructions include Epäilin, että hän sanoisi totuuden (I doubted that he would tell the truth) and Epäilin hänen kertomuksensa todenperäisyyttä (I doubted the truthfulness of his account). It can also describe doubt about someone’s motives: Epäilin hänen motiivejaan.

Pronunciation and conjugation follow standard Finnish verb patterns. The past tense forms are built with the -in suffix for the first person singular (epäilin), while other persons use -ilit, -ili, -imme, -itte, -ivät, matching the regular conjugation of Finnish verbs of this type. The related nouns are epäilys (doubt), epäilijä (doubter), and epäily (doubt or suspicion); the adjective form is epäilevä (doubtful).

Epäillä is a neutral to slightly tentative verb, often used in reporting, narration, or analysis where certainty is not asserted. It contrasts with stronger terms for certainty or assertion and is frequently found in personal reflection, journalism, and scholarly writing when presenting doubts about information or events.