käännö

Käännä is Finnish for the imperative singular form of the verb kääntää, and it has two primary meanings in everyday use: to turn or rotate, and to translate. The word appears in directions and instructions as a command for changing direction, for example in road signs or navigation instructions: “Käännä oikealle” means “Turn right.” It also occurs in language contexts when asking someone to render text from one language to another, for example “Käännä tämä teksti englanniksi” meaning “Translate this text into English.”

As a verb, kääntää has related forms that cover various person and tense combinations. For example, minä käännän (I turn/translate), sinä käännät (you turn/translate), hän kääntää (he/she turns/translates). The word also yields nouns and participles connected to turning or translating, such as käännös meaning “translation” or “turn,” and käännetty meaning “translated.” The act of translating is often expressed with kääntäminen, while a translator is referred to with kääntäjä.

Usage of käännä depends on context. In travel or manual contexts, it signals a physical action—changing direction. In linguistic contexts, it signals a task of rendering content from one language to another. The dual meaning is typical of Finnish verbs that combine a concrete action with a more abstract process, and listeners infer the intended sense from accompanying words and situational cues.