päättää

Päättää is a Finnish verb meaning to decide, to determine, or to conclude. It is used when a person makes a choice or arrives at a resolution about a course of action. The sense of concluding a discussion or settling a matter can also appear in more formal contexts.

Usage and construction

Päättää is typically followed by an infinitive to express deciding to do something, for example, to decide to leave or to decide to undertake a task. It can also introduce a clause with että to state a decision about a future action, such as “Päätin, että menen.” In everyday speech, the verb appears in various tenses and persons, and its perfect forms are used with auxiliary verbs (for example, “olen päättänyt” = I have decided).

Related noun and expressions

The noun form päätös means a decision, referring to the act or outcome of deciding. A common expression is tehdä päätös, meaning to make a decision. The verb is closely contrasted with päättyä, which means to end or to finish, a different intransitive verb with a separate set of uses.

Origins and note

Päättää is a native Finnish verb. Its core meaning centers on making a decision or determining something, rather than ending an event. The two verbs are often mentioned together in language learning, but they are used in distinct grammatical constructions and contexts.

Examples

Päätin lähteä kotiin. I decided to go home.

Hän päättää tehdä sen huomenna. He decides to do it tomorrow.

Olen päättänyt tehdä sen. I have decided to do it.