sivistimme

Sivistimme is the Finnish verb sivistää in the first-person plural past tense, meaning "we educated," "we civilised," or "we enlightened." It describes an action carried out by a group that includes the speaker and typically refers to increasing someone’s knowledge, culture, or civility. The related noun sivistys denotes civilization, education, or cultivation, and sivistynyt means educated or civilized.

Usage notes: In modern Finnish sivistää primarily means to educate or enlighten. The form sivistämme is the present tense "we educate," while sivistimme expresses a completed action in the past. The verb can carry neutral meanings in educational contexts, but it can also have paternalistic or historically charged nuances when used in discussions of civilizing missions or Westernization. Passive forms include sivistettiin ("they were educated" or "it was educated"), and sivistynyt is used to describe someone who is educated or refined.

Related terms include sivistys (civilization, education) and sivistynyt (civilized, educated). The root form sivistää is part of a broader lexical family concerned with culture, learning, and refinement, and it appears in both everyday language and more formal or historical contexts.