selittää

Selittää is a Finnish verb meaning to explain or to justify. It denotes the act of making something clear by giving information, reasons, or interpretation. It is typically transitive, taking a direct object such as a thing or idea (jotakin) and often accompanied by an indirect object indicating to whom the explanation is addressed (for example, minulle, hänelle). Common uses include explaining a concept to a listener, explaining why something happened, or interpreting a phenomenon. Example sentences: “Voisitko selittää tämän minulle?” “Hän selittää, miksi hän ei tullut.” “Opettaja selittää uuden aiheen.”

Etymology: The verb comes from the noun selitys, meaning explanation. The verb form is used to perform the act of providing an explanation or justification.

Grammar and forms: In present tense, the third-person singular is selittää (hän selittää), while first-person singular is selitän, second-person singular selität, and so on: me selitämme, te selitätte, he selittävät. Past tense forms include selitin, selitit, selitti, selitimme, selititte, selittivät. The conditional is selittäisin/selittäisit/selittäisi/selittäisimme/selittäisitte/selittäisivät. The imperative is selitä (singular) or selittäkää (plural). The passive form is selitetään, and past passive is selitettiin.

Usage notes: Selittää can govern different object types: selittää jotakin (to explain something), selittää jollekulle (to explain to someone), or selittää, mitä/miksi—clause (to explain what/why). Related terms include selitys (explanation) and selittäminen (the act or process of explaining). The verb is common in educational, instructional, media, and everyday contexts.