välttyä

Välttyä is a Finnish verb meaning to escape, avoid, or be spared from something undesirable. It is used to describe ending up not experiencing a negative event, often in contexts involving danger, trouble, or consequences. The verb is intransitive and typically governs the elative case to indicate what is escaped from, for example vahingoilta (from harm), onnettomuudelta (from an accident), or myrskystä (from a storm). It can also appear with phrases such as vältyä kiusaukselta (to escape temptation) or välttyä seuraamuksilta (to be spared from the consequences).

In usage, välttyä emphasizes that one does not experience something that could have happened, rather than actively avoiding it through deliberate action. This contrasts with the related verb välttää, which more directly conveys the act of avoiding something.

Conjugation and examples: The verb conjugates like other Finnish -tyä verbs. Examples in common tenses include: minä vältyin (I escaped), hän välttyi (he escaped) in the past; minä vältyn or hän välttyy in the present. Sample sentences: Hän välttyi vahingoilta. Me vältyimme suuremmilta ongelmilta. Hän vältti kiusaukselta.

Related forms include the participial and adjectival uses such as välttyneenä, which can appear in constructions meaning “having escaped.” The term is widely understood across Finnish media, literature, and everyday speech.

See also: välttää, a related verb with a somewhat more intentional nuance; onnettomuudet, risks and danger phrases where välttyä is commonly applied.