nähdä

Nähdä is a Finnish verb meaning "to see" in the sense of perceiving with the eyes. It is a core, highly frequent verb and is also used metaphorically to mean understand or realize. The verb is transitive and normally takes a direct object, for example, näen sinut (I see you). It appears in many fixed phrases and idioms, including uses that extend beyond literal vision, such as dreaming or making an effort.

Conjugation is regular within Finnish verb patterns, but näke- forms are irregular in some tenses. In the present indicative the forms are minä näen, sinä näet, hän näkee, me näemme, te näette, he näkevät. The imperfect (past) forms are minä näin, sinä näit, hän näki, me näimme, te näitte, he näkivät. The perfect participle is nähnyt, used with olla to form perfect tenses (esim. olen nähnyt, olet nähnyt, on nähnyt, olemme nähneet). The present passive is nähdään, used for impersonal statements or to avoid specifying a subject (for example, Elokuva nähdään televisiosta).

Usage notes include common idioms such as nähdä unta (to dream) and nähdä vaivaa (to go to the trouble). The expression Nähtäkö? appears in questions about what will be seen, while the colloquial farewell Nähtäväksi hetkeksi? is rare; a more common usage is Nähtäähän myöhemmin, or simply Nähtiin? in certain contexts. A frequent social-use form is Nähtävästi, though that is more a derived adverb than a direct verb form. As a general-purpose verb, näkeä integrates into everyday speech across tense and mood, with both literal perception and figurative meanings.