mieltävät

Mieltää is a Finnish verb meaning to regard, deem, or interpret something in a particular way. It is a transitive verb used to express how someone perceives or evaluates a situation, an action, or a concept. The sense can range from a simple opinion to a formal assessment, and it is commonly found in political, legal, and media discourse as well as everyday speech.

The form mieltävät is the third-person plural present indicative of mieltää, meaning “they deem” or “they regard.” As with many Finnish verbs, mieltää takes a direct object that denotes what is being regarded and a predicative element that specifies the interpretation, often expressed with the translative case (for example, -ksi or -ksi use in adjective phrases, or joksikin for “as something”). This construction allows speakers to state how a group or subject interprets a matter.

Usage notes: mieltää carries a nuance of evaluative judgment rather than mere opinion. It is commonly used in contexts where someone’s judgment or framing of a situation is being reported or debated. It can appear in formal prose, journalism, and analytic writing, as well as in spoken Finnish.

Examples:

- Hän mieltää tämän mahdollisuudeksi. (He/they regard this as a possibility.)

- Kansalaiset mieltävät päätöksen epäoikeudenmukaiseksi. (Citizens deem the decision unfair.)

Etymology: mieltää derives from mieli, meaning “mind” or “thought,” with the infinitive ending -tää. The term thus reflects the act of forming an interpretation or an evaluative view.

See also: mieltää (to deem/regard), mieli (mind/feeling), tulkita (to interpret).