katsoa

Katsoa is a Finnish verb meaning “to look,” “to watch,” or “to see.” It is a core verb in Finnish and appears in everyday speech in both literal and figurative senses, making it one of the most commonly used verbs in the language.

Infinitive: katsoa. In the present tense the forms are minä katson, sinä katsot, hän katsoo, me katsomme, te katsotte, he katsovat. The imperfect past tense is katsoin, katsoit, katsoi, katsoimme, katsoitte, katsoivat. The negative present is en katso, et katso, ei katso; the negative past is en katsonut, et katsonut, ei katsonut. The imperative is katso (singular) and katsokaa (plural); the negative imperative is älä katso. The conditional present is katsoisin, katsoisit, katsoisi, katsoisimme, katsoisitte, katsoisivat. The present participle is katsoen; the past participle is katsonut, used in perfect constructions with on, as in Olen katsonut elokuvaa (“I have watched a movie”).

Usage notes: Katsoa governs typical direct objects such as televisiota (TV) or elokuvaa (a movie) to express watching. It is versatile across registers and appears in many common phrases and idiomatic expressions. Like other Finnish verbs, it forms new meanings with suffixes and compounds, enabling nuanced expressions of looking, watching, or considering in context. The verb is essential for learners due to its frequency and broad applicability in everyday communication.