käsittelemään

Käsittelemään is a Finnish verb form that corresponds to to handle, to deal with, or to process. It is a form of the verb käsitellä and is commonly described as the -maan/-mään form, which is used to express purpose or intent in combination with certain other verbs. In practice, käsittelemään appears most often in phrases that convey going to perform the action of handling something, or beginning to deal with it, rather than as a standalone finite verb.

Usage and function

The form is especially common after verbs of motion or intention, such as mennä or ryhtyä, to indicate the goal of moving toward the action of handling or processing. For example, a sentence like Menen käsittelemään tämän asian means “I am going to deal with this matter.” The construction is more frequent in formal, administrative, or technical language than in everyday colloquial speech, where the present tense käsitellä or other periphrastic forms are often used.

Meaning and nuance

Käsittelemään emphasizes the act of handling or processing something. It can refer to dealing with problems, reviewing information, processing data, or addressing a matter. The nuance differs from the present infinitive käsitellä, which states the action in a neutral, general sense, whereas käsittelemään often signals purpose or imminent action within a larger statement.

Related forms

The noun form is käsittely (handling, processing). Related agents or roles include käsittelijä (handler, processor). Both relate to the broader semantic field of dealing with information, issues, or objects.

See also

käsittely, käsittelijä, käsitellä.