kätki

Kätki is a Finnish verb form and the simple past tense of kätkeä, meaning to hide or conceal. It is used to describe a completed action in which someone hid something. In standard Finnish, kätki is typically used with a third-person singular subject, as in Hän kätki avaimen pöydän alle, meaning He hid the key under the table.

The infinitive form of the verb is kätkeä, and the past participle is kätketty. The verb belongs to native Finnic vocabulary. Its basic sense is to conceal or place something where it will not be found easily, though it can also be used more generally for stashing items away.

Common collocations include kätkeä arvoesineitä (to hide valuables) and kätkeä salaisuus (to conceal a secret). In usage, kätki often appears in narrative past tense to convey actions completed in the past.

Related forms include kätketty (hidden, as a participle or adjective), and kätkeminen (the act of concealing). There is also kätkeytyä, a reflexive form meaning to hide oneself or to become concealed in a location or situation.

Kätki is used across standard Finnish and is understood in Finnish-speaking regions; it is not tied to a specific dialect.