kokoontua

Kokoontua is a Finnish verb meaning to come together or to gather, typically describing people or groups assembling in one place or for a common purpose. It is intransitive, unlike the transitive verb koota, which means to collect or assemble something or someone by an agent.

In everyday usage, kokoontua conveys the act of gathering itself rather than organizing the gathering. It can refer to informal meetups as well as formal meetings, and it is used with various tenses just like other Finnish verbs. For example, present-tense forms include kokoontuu (he/she/it gathers) and kokoontuvat (they gather), while we-form is kokoontumme. Past tense forms include kokoontui (he/she/it gathered) and kokoontuivat (they gathered). The perfect form uses the past participle kokoontunut with olla, as in olemme kokoontuneet (“we have gathered”).

The noun form kokoontuminen refers to the act or event of gathering, and related terms include kokous (a formal meeting) and kokoontumispaikka (gathering place). Kokoontua is commonly contrasted with koota, which is transitive and means to gather or collect something, often under someone’s direction.

Examples:

- Kokous kokoontuu tänään. (The meeting is convening today.)

- Meillä on suunnitelma, ja me kokoontumme huomenna. (We have a plan, and we are gathering tomorrow.)

- Olemme kokoontuneet useaan otteeseen tässä kuussa. (We have gathered several times this month.)

Overall, kokoontua is a core verb for describing people coming together, used across formal and informal contexts in Finnish.