nähtiin

Nähtiin is a Finnish verb form meaning was seen or were seen. It is the past passive form of nähdä, used to describe that something was observed by someone, without specifying who observed it. In Finnish, the passive voice often omits the agent, which makes nähtiin common in news reports, descriptions, and narrative where the observer is not important or unknown.

In usage, nähtiin can refer to sightings of people, animals, objects, events, or phenomena. It is versatile for both singular and plural subjects, depending on the context. The phrase can appear in various tenses when adapted with surrounding words, but its core function remains to report a past sighting without naming the observer. For example, Lintu nähtiin tänä aamuna puistossa means “A bird was seen in the park this morning,” and Kuvassa nähtiin vanha rakennus means “An old building is seen in the picture,” with the passive construction indicating the observation rather than the observer.

Nähtiin is often contrasted with näyt, the active form in past tense, and with the passive participle nähty, which is used in perfect tenses such as on nähty, meaning has been seen. In translation, nähtiin typically becomes “was seen” or “were seen,” depending on the subject and context.

See also: nähdä, Finnish grammar, passive voice, nähty, on nähty.