leivotaan

Leivotaan is the present passive form of the Finnish verb leipoa, meaning to bake. It expresses that something is baked, or is being baked, without specifying the agent performing the action. The form is common in recipes, instructions, and descriptions of baking processes.

Formation and meaning: The present passive is formed by adding the ending -taan to the stem of the active infinitive. From leipoa, the stem is leip-, giving leivotaan. In Finnish, the present passive has no explicit subject and is used with an indefinite or generic agent. The form is identical for singular and plural subjects; the number is determined by the surrounding noun, e.g., Kakut leivotaan (cakes are baked) or Kakku leivotaan (the cake is baked).

Usage: Leivotaan appears frequently in cooking contexts, from recipe steps to menus and cooking broadcasts. It conveys a process rather than a completed action, and can be accompanied by time markers: "Kakut leivotaan tänään" (the cakes are baked today). It is one of several ways to express passive baking in Finnish and is widely understood in everyday language.

Related forms: The active form is leipoa; the noun leivonta refers to baking as a discipline. The past participle leivottu means baked, used in contexts like "leivottu hapanjuuri" (baked sourdough). Leivotaan thus sits within a family of forms used to describe baking in Finnish.