hakiessaan

Hakiessaan is a Finnish verbal form, the present active participle of hakea, meaning to seek or fetch. The form expresses that the subject is performing hakea at the same time as the action described in the main clause. In English, hakiessaan is often rendered as “as he/she seeks” or “while seeking.” It is used primarily in written Finnish, especially in literary or formal prose, and typically appears when the participial phrase shares the same subject as the main clause.

Construction and usage: The participial phrase hakianen or hakien is attached to a main clause to provide circumstantial background information about the subject. The subject of the participial clause is the same as the subject of the main clause. An example (with translation) is: Hakiessaan vettä, hän kuuli askeleita. “While seeking water, he heard footsteps.” Such forms contribute to a concise narrative style by combining actions into a single sentence without repeating the subject.

Variants and register: Hakiessaan belongs to a family of adverbial participles formed with the suffix -essaan/-essaan and related forms like hakien. These constructions are more common in literary or formal Finnish; in everyday speech, speakers often opt for finite clauses or simpler constructions (for example, using a separate clause for the second action).

See also: Finnish grammar, participles, adverbial participles, hakea.