tunnista

Tunnista is the imperative form of the Finnish verb tunnistaa, meaning to identify or recognize. It is used to give a direct command to identify a person, object, or pattern, such as in a task or instruction.

The verb’s infinitive is tunnistaa. Its finite present tense forms include tunnistan (I identify), tunnistat (you identify), and hän tunnistaa (he/she identifies). The imperative form, which is the word tunnista, is specifically used for second-person singular commands. The passive form is tunnistetaan, used to say that something is identified in general or by people in a given context. Past tense forms include tunnisti (identified) and tunnistivat (identified, plural).

Related nouns include tunnistus (identification) and tunnus (identifier or ID). Finnish also creates compound terms that are common in technology and security, such as kasvojentunnistus (facial recognition) and sormenjälkitunnistus (fingerprint recognition). The verb and its derivatives are frequent in both everyday language and specialized domains like computer security, law enforcement, and logistics.

Usage notes: Tunnista functions as a direct imperative, typically found in instructions, checklists, or problem-solving prompts. In contrast, tunnistaa (the infinitive or other finite forms) is used to describe the act of identifying in statements or questions. The distinction between identifying someone from memory and performing formal identification is often conveyed through context and accompanying nouns.