toimii

Toimii is a Finnish verb form meaning "it works" or "it functions." It is the third-person singular present indicative form of the verb toimia, which means "to function, to operate, to act." In everyday Finnish, toimia is used to state that a device, system, process, or person is performing as expected.

Grammatical notes: The present tense forms of toimia include minä toimin, sinä toimit, hän toimii, me toimimme, te toimitte, he toimivat. Therefore, toimii is used with a singular third-person subject, such as laite (device), järjestelmä (system), or ohjelmisto (software). The phrase can be negated with ei toimi, meaning "does not work" or "is not functioning."

Usage and nuance: Toimii covers literal operation of machines and software, but it can also describe how a person fulfills a role or performs an action. Examples include: "Laite toimii nyt" (The device is functioning now), "Ohjelmisto toimii odotetusti" (The software works as expected), and "Hän toimii opettajana" (He works as a teacher / functions as a teacher). In informal speech, speakers may use synonyms like pelittää to convey that something operates smoothly.

Related terms: The noun forms related to toimintao are toiminta (activity, operation) and toimija (actor, agent). The verb toimia also has other tense forms for past and perfect tenses, though toimii specifically refers to present-tense, third-person singular usage in most common contexts.