voisiko

Voisiko is a Finnish word formed from the verb voida ("to be able") in the conditional mood plus the interrogative clitic -ko/-kö. Morphologically it represents the third-person singular conditional (voisi) combined with the question particle, and is used to form polite questions, tentative suggestions and hypothetical inquiries. Literal glosses include "could (he/she/it)?" or "would it be possible...?"

In use, voisiko appears in both spoken and written Finnish to soften requests or to pose possibilities without committing to certainty. Typical examples are Voisiko hän tulla kokoukseen? ("Could he/she come to the meeting?"), Voisiko kukaan auttaa? ("Could anyone help?") and Voisiko olla niin, että... ("Could it be that..."). It can also be part of negative or rhetorical questions (e.g., Eikö voisi auttaa? "Couldn't [someone] help?") and occurs together with polite pronouns and nominal expressions to create formal or deferential tones.

Grammatically, the form derives from the conditional stem (isi) used to express hypothetical or polite modality in Finnish, and the clitic -ko/-kö which attaches to the word it interrogates. Related forms include minä voisin, sinä voisit and hän voisi (non-interrogative conditional). Colloquial and dialectal variants for asking permission or making soft requests may use different pronouns or forms (e.g., voisiks(ko)), but voisiko remains a standard, neutral interrogative conditional.