kiertäen

Kiertäen is a Finnish adverbial participle formed from the verb kiertää, meaning to circle or go around. It describes the manner of an action, indicating that it is done in a circling or looping motion. In English this is often rendered as “circling” or “in a circling manner.”

Grammatically, kiertäen is a non-finite verb form known as the adverbial or present participle. It is used to describe how something is done and can connect with a main verb to form a single clause that expresses simultaneous or manner-specific action. It is common in descriptive or narrative Finnish.

Usage examples are common in written Finnish and often appear in descriptive passages. For instance: Hän kulki kiertäen torin ympäri. (He walked around the square in a circling motion.) Hän katsoi kiertäen ympäri huonetta. (She looked around the room in a circling manner.) These constructions show kiertäen indicating how the action is performed rather than introducing a new independent clause.

The form is part of a broader set of adverbial participles in Finnish, such as katsoen (looking) or nauraen (laughing), which describe manner or accompanying actions. Kierräen kiertää kannattelemaan kuvausta tilannetta ja liikkumista. In everyday speech it may be possible to rephrase with a main clause plus a separate clause to avoid the participle, but kiertäen remains a standard, well-understood grammatical option in Finnish writing.