luottavat

Luottavat is a Finnish verb form meaning “they trust.” It is the present tense, third-person plural form of the verb luottaa, which means to trust or rely. In everyday Finnish, luottaa appears in contexts ranging from trusting people to placing confidence in plans, outcomes, or institutions. The word luottavat is therefore primarily found in clauses with a plural subject.

Grammatical notes: Finnish verbs mark person and number in the present indicative, and luottavat is the standard form for “they trust.” The full present-tense paradigm of luottaa is: minä luotan, sinä luotat, hän luottaa, me luotamme, te luotatte, he luottavat. The suffix -vat/-vät reflects the third-person plural, with vowel harmony influencing the exact ending. Negative forms use ei luota or ei luottavat, depending on the subject.

Usage and meaning: Luottavat expresses trust, confidence, or reliance toward a person, idea, plan, or situation. It commonly combines with phrases like nin “siihen” (that), as in He luottavat siihen, että asiat järjestyvät (They trust that things will work out), or with a dependent clause. The verb can also pair with prepositional phrases such as luottaa johonkin or luottaa itseensä to denote trust in something or in one’s own abilities.

Related forms and distinctions: The noun luottamus denotes trust or reliability as a concept, while luottava or luotettava are adjectives meaning trustworthy or reliable. The verb luottaa shares semantic field with such terms, and its forms align with typical Finnish verb conjugation patterns.

See also: luottaa, luottamus, luotettava.