odottaa

Odottaa is a Finnish verb meaning to wait for someone or something and to expect or anticipate something. It is a native Finnic verb; its exact historical origin is not well documented, but cognates exist in other Finnic languages, such as Estonian ootama.

Usage and meaning

Odottaa can express waiting for a person, an event, or a thing, as well as the act of expecting something to happen. When used with a direct object, the object is typically in the partitive case, for example: odotan bussia (I am waiting for the bus). It can also take a clause, often introduced by että: Odotan, että hän tulee (I expect that he will come). The nuance ranges from simple waiting to anticipation of a future event.

Conjugation (present, past, perfect)

- Present: minä odotan, sinä odotat, hän odottaa, me odotamme, te odotatte, he odottavat

- Imperfect (past): minä odotin, sinä odotit, hän odotti, me odotimme, te odotitte, he odottivat

- Perfect: olen odottanut, olet odottanut, on odottanut, olemme odottaneet, olette odottaneet, ovat odottaneet

- Pluperfect: olin odottanut, olit odottanut, oli odottanut, olimme odottaneet, olitte odottaneet, olivat odottaneet

Finnish mainly uses the present for near futures, with periphrastic forms such as aion odottaa for explicit future intent.

Related forms

- Odotus (noun): a wait or expectation

- Odottava (adjective): expectant or waiting

- Odottaa jotakin/… että …: common constructions to express waiting and expectation

Examples

- Odotan bussin pysähtymistä. (I am waiting for the bus to stop.)

- Hän odottaa vastausta. (He is waiting for an answer.)

- Odotan, että hän voi tulla. (I hope that he can come / I expect that he will come.)