peittää

Peittää is a Finnish verb meaning to place a covering over something or to hide or conceal. It can describe physical covering, such as snow covering the ground, or figurative concealment, such as masking a defect or hiding information. The meaning depends on context and the object being covered.

In use, peittää can describe both tangible and abstract coverings. Examples include peittää pöytäliinalla (to cover the table with a tablecloth), lumi peittää maan (snow covers the land), and the prolonged concealment of a fact, as in totuuden peittäminen (to hide the truth). The word can also appear in passive constructions: maa on peitetty lumella (the ground is covered by snow). Related noun forms include peittäminen (the act of covering) and peitetty (covered) as an adjective.

Conjugation and forms: peittää is a regular Finnish -ä verb. Present tense: minä peitän, sinä peität, hän peittää, me peitämme, te peitätte, he peittävät. Past tense: minä peitin, sinä peitit, hän peitti, me peitimme, te peitteet, he peittivät. The past participle is peittänyt, used in perfect tenses, and the passive participle peitetty is used to denote something that has been covered. The active noun form peittäminen refers to the act of covering.

Peittää carries a broad range of nuance, from literal spatial covering to metaphorical concealment. Its versatility makes it common in everyday language as well as in literature, journalism, and instruction.