synnyttää

Synnyttää is a Finnish verb meaning to give birth to a child or to bear offspring. It can also be used more broadly to mean to generate or produce something as a result. In human contexts the subject is the person who gives birth, typically a pregnant mother; in animal contexts the female of the species bears the offspring. The direct object is usually the newborn or the offspring (lapsi, eläin).

Grammatically, synnyttää is a transitive verb. It is commonly used in present and past tenses to describe the act of giving birth. For example, Hän synnyttää lapsen means “she gives birth to a child.” The past tense is formed with synnytti, as in Viime yönä hän synnytti pojan (“Last night she gave birth to a boy”). The intransitive verb syntyä means “to be born,” and is used to describe the event from the viewpoint of the newborn, as in Lapsi syntyi sairaalassa (“The child was born in the hospital”).

Etymology and related words: synnyttää derives from the root synny- related to birth, with the causative suffix -ttää. Related words include synnytys (birth, delivery) and syntyä (to be born). The term is common in medical, biological, and everyday language, and it can appear in metaphorical uses such as describing something that generates outcomes or consequences.

Usage notes: In everyday Finnish, synnyttää is primarily used for humans but also applies to animals. Metaphorical uses are frequent in journalism, politics, and discussions about projects or decisions that produce results.

See also: synnytys; syntyä.