rakastaa

Rakastaa is a native Finnish verb meaning "to love." It is a transitive verb used with a direct object, referring to affection for a person, animal, thing, or activity. The sense ranges from strong personal affection to enjoying something highly, as in loving food or a hobby. In romantic contexts it expresses deep, enduring love.

Conjugation is regular for its class. In the present tense the forms are: minä rakastan, sinä rakastat, hän rakastaa, me rakastamme, te rakastatte, he rakastavat. The imperfect (past) forms are: minä rakastin, sinä rakasti, hän rakasti, me rakastiimme, te rakastitte, he rakastivat. The perfect (past) forms use the auxiliary olla plus the past participle: olen rakastanut, olet rakastanut, on rakastanut, olemme rakastaneet, olette rakastaneet, ovat rakastaneet. The verb belongs to the Type 1 group in Finnish conjugation, characterized by the infinitive ending -aa or -ä and a stem that changes in various tenses similarly to other -taa verbs.

Related words include rakkaus (love) and rakas (dear, beloved). The verb is often used with phrases such as rakastaa tehdä jotakin (to love to do something) or rakastaa sinua (to love you). Compared with rakastua, which means "to fall in love" and is intransitive, rakastaa denotes a steady bond or strong preference rather than the initial feeling of falling in love.

Usage notes: rakastaa can be used for both concrete and abstract objects, and it frequently appears in literature, songs, and everyday speech to express affection, commitment, or strong liking.