100 Finnish Verbs to Expand Your Vocabulary

A vocabulary study list of 100 Finnish verbs, their English translations, and their imperfect past-tense forms.

kutsua

to invite (imperfect: kutsui - invited)

lahjoittaa

to give as a gift / donate (imperfect: lahjoitti - gave as a gift / donated)

saada

to get / receive (imperfect: sai - got / received)

antaa

to give (imperfect: antoi - gave)

lainata

to borrow / lend (imperfect: lainasi - borrowed / lent)

palauttaa

to return / give back (imperfect: palautti - returned / gave back)

unohtaa

to forget (imperfect: unohti - forgot)

muistaa

to remember (imperfect: muisti - remembered)

tarvita

to need (imperfect: tarvitsi - needed)

toivoa

to hope / wish (imperfect: toivoi - hoped / wished)

uskoa

to believe (imperfect: uskoi - believed)

luottaa

to trust / rely on (imperfect: luotti - trusted / relied on)

epäillä

to doubt / suspect (imperfect: epili - doubted / suspected)

päättää

to decide (imperfect: ptti - decided)

yrittää

to try / attempt (imperfect: yritti - tried / attempted)

onnistua

to succeed / manage (imperfect: onnistui - succeeded / managed)

eponnistua

to fail (imperfect: eponnistui - failed)

valita

to choose / select (imperfect: valitsi - chose / selected)

vaihtaa

to change / switch (imperfect: vaihtoi - changed / switched)

verrata

to compare (imperfect: vertasi - compared)

selittää

to explain (imperfect: selitti - explained)

ehdottaa

to suggest / propose (imperfect: ehdotti - suggested / proposed)

sopia

to agree / fit / arrange (imperfect: sopi - agreed / fitted / arranged)

sopia yhteen

to match / go together (imperfect: sopi yhteen - matched / went together)

suostua

to agree / consent (imperfect: suostui - agreed / consented)

kieltäytyä

to refuse (imperfect: kieltytyi - refused)

pyytää

to ask for / request (imperfect: pyysi - asked for / requested)

vastata

to answer / respond (imperfect: vastasi - answered / responded)

kysyä

to ask (imperfect: kysyi - asked)

mainita

to mention (imperfect: mainitsi - mentioned)

tarkoittaa

to mean (imperfect: tarkoitti - meant)

tietä

to know (a fact) (imperfect: tiesi - knew)

tuntea

to know / be familiar with / feel (imperfect: tunsi - knew / was familiar with / felt)

huomata

to notice (imperfect: huomasi - noticed)

ymmärtä

to understand (imperfect: ymmrsi - understood)

oppia

to learn (imperfect: oppi - learned)

opettaa

to teach (imperfect: opetti - taught)

harjoitella

to practise (imperfect: harjoitteli - practised)

muuttaa

to move / change (imperfect: muutti - moved / changed)

asua

to live / reside (imperfect: asui - lived / resided)

vierailla

to visit (imperfect: vieraili - visited)

tavata

to meet (imperfect: tapasi - met)

juhlia

to celebrate (imperfect: juhli - celebrated)

osallistua

to participate / attend (imperfect: osallistui - participated / attended)

järjestää

to arrange / organise (imperfect: jrjesti - arranged / organised)

varata

to reserve / book (imperfect: varasi - reserved / booked)

perua

to cancel (imperfect: perui - cancelled)

saapua

to arrive (imperfect: saapui - arrived)

lähteä

to leave / depart (imperfect: lhti - left / departed)

palata

to return (imperfect: palasi - returned)

viipy

to stay / linger (imperfect: viipyi - stayed / lingered)

kulkea

to travel / go / pass (imperfect: kulki - travelled / went / passed)

nousta

to rise / get up (imperfect: nousi - rose / got up)

laskea

to lower / count / set (imperfect: laski - lowered / counted / set)

nostaa

to lift / raise (imperfect: nosti - lifted / raised)

pudottaa

to drop (imperfect: pudotti - dropped)

työntää

to push (imperfect: tynsi - pushed)

vetää

to pull (imperfect: veti - pulled)

kantaa

to carry (imperfect: kantoi - carried)

rakentaa

to build (imperfect: rakensi - built)

korjata

to repair / fix (imperfect: korjasi - repaired / fixed)

rikkoa

to break (imperfect: rikkoi - broke)

sulkea

to close / shut (imperfect: sulki - closed / shut)

avata

to open (imperfect: avasi - opened)

täyttää

to fill / complete (imperfect: täytti - filled / completed)

tyhjentää

to empty (imperfect: tyhjensi - emptied)

säilyttää

to keep / store / preserve (imperfect: silytti - kept / stored / preserved)

hävittää

to destroy / dispose of (imperfect: hävitti - destroyed / disposed of)

löytää

to find (imperfect: lysi - found)

kadottaa

to lose / misplace (imperfect: kadotti - lost / misplaced)

etsi

to look for / search (imperfect: etsi - looked for / searched)

tarkistaa

to check (imperfect: tarkisti - checked)

tarkentaa

to clarify / specify (imperfect: tarkensi - clarified / specified)

varmistaa

to make sure / confirm (imperfect: varmisti - made sure / confirmed)

huolehtia

to take care of (imperfect: huolehti - took care of)

huomioida

to take into account / consider (imperfect: huomioi - took into account / considered)

käyttää

to use / spend (imperfect: kytti - used / spent)

kuluttaa

to consume / spend (imperfect: kulutti - consumed / spent)

ansaita

to earn (imperfect: ansaitsi - earned)

maksaa

to pay / cost (imperfect: maksoi - paid / cost)

säästää

to save (imperfect: säästi - saved)

ostaa

to buy (imperfect: osti - bought)

myydä

to sell (imperfect: myi - sold)

tilata

to order / subscribe (imperfect: tilasi - ordered / subscribed)

toimittaa

to deliver (imperfect: toimitti - delivered)

lähettää

to send (imperfect: lhetti - sent)

vastaanottaa

to receive (imperfect: vastaanotti - received)

ilmoittaa

to notify / report / announce (imperfect: ilmoitti - notified / reported / announced)

hakea

to apply for / fetch / pick up (imperfect: haki - applied for / fetched / picked up)

palkata

to hire (imperfect: palkkasi - hired)

irtisanoa

to terminate / dismiss / cancel (imperfect: irtisanoi - terminated / dismissed / cancelled)

työskennellä

to work (imperfect: tyskenteli - worked)

valmistua

to graduate (imperfect: valmistui - graduated)

suorittaa

to complete / perform (imperfect: suoritti - completed / performed)

perustaa

to establish / found (imperfect: perusti - established / founded)

kehittää

to develop (imperfect: kehitti - developed)

parantaa

to improve (imperfect: paransi - improved)

kasvaa

to grow (imperfect: kasvoi - grew)