juottaa

Juottaa is a Finnish verb meaning to provide a drink to someone or to an animal, or to cause someone to drink. It is a causative form derived from juoda (to drink) with the suffix -ottaa. The term is used to describe giving liquid to a recipient, such as water, milk, tea, or other beverages. In practice, juottaa is most common in contexts involving people or animals and is less typical for watering plants, where kastella is more standard.

Usage and grammar

Juottaa is transitive and typically combines with a recipient in the illative or allative case (to whom the drink is given) and with the liquid in the partitive form. Examples: Minä juotan lapselleni maitoa. He juotti koiralle vettä. The past tense form juotti is common in narrative or reporting. The construction emphasizes the act of providing a drink rather than simply drinking.

Contexts

The verb is common in caregiving, parenting, veterinary, and farming contexts, where one person provides a drink to a child, a patient, or an animal. For watering crops or plants, kastella is usually preferred, as juottaa more narrowly conveys the act of giving liquid to a recipient.

Etymology

Juottaa is a causative form built from juoda, using the productive -ottaa suffix in Finnish verb formation. It reflects the shift from describing drinking to causing another to drink.

See also

Kastella, juoda, verbs of giving.