tahto

Tahto is a Finnish noun meaning will, intention, or desire. It denotes the mental faculty of choosing or wishing and is used to refer to a person’s determination or aims.

The term is derived from the verb tahtoa, meaning to want or to desire. It has cognates in other Finnic languages; for example, Estonian tahe corresponds in meaning to will or intention.

In everyday Finnish, tahto appears when speaking about what someone wants to do or intends to do, and it can be combined with possessive endings to indicate whose will is being discussed. The word is also used in legal, philosophical, and religious contexts to discuss the concept of volition or agency, including discussions of free will in Finnish scholarly or cultural discourse.

In Finnish literature and discourse, tahto may be contrasted with external circumstances, fate, or coercion to express the idea that a person’s own decision is decisive.

See also: tahtoa, tahto in related Finnic languages such as Estonian tahe.