riitää

Riittää is a Finnish verb meaning to be enough or to suffice. It expresses that a quantity, effort, quality, or other resource meets the needs of a situation. As an intransitive verb, it does not take a direct object; the subject of the sentence is what is sufficient.

The most common usage is with the impersonal or copular form se riittää, meaning that something will do or that it is enough. Negative form is ei riitä, used to indicate insufficiency. The verb can also take an indirect object in the form of a recipient, as in se riittää minulle (“that will do for me” or “that is enough for me”).

Riittää can describe sufficiency across different domains, including time, money, information, and resources. For example, raha riittää kuukaudeksi would be translated as “the money will last for a month.” The context often makes it clear whether the sufficiency is temporary or permanent, practical or generic.

Grammatically, riittää belongs to the core Finnish verb system and is commonly found in everyday speech, journalism, and formal writing. Related forms and derivatives include riittäminen, a noun referring to sufficiency, and the adjective riittävä, meaning adequate or sufficient. These terms expand the same semantic field to describe adequacy in various contexts.

In summary, riittää is a fundamental Finnish verb used to express that something is enough to meet a need, whether in everyday planning, budgeting, or communication. Its versatility makes it a frequent choice for describing adequacy and sufficiency.