The six Finnish verb types: how to recognise and conjugate them
Every Finnish verb belongs to one of six types, and the type tells you how to build its forms. Learn to spot the type from the infinitive and you can conjugate thousands of verbs.
5 min read · Updated 10 October 2026
Why Finnish verbs have types
Finnish verbs add personal endings to a stem. The stem is not always the infinitive minus -a, and the six verb types tell you how to get from the dictionary form (the infinitive) to the stem. Once you have the stem, the endings are the same for every type.
The personal endings
| Person | Ending | Example (puhua, to speak) |
|---|---|---|
| minä (I) | -n | puhun |
| sinä (you) | -t | puhut |
| hän (he/she) | longer final vowel, or no ending | puhuu |
| me (we) | -mme | puhumme |
| te (you, plural or polite) | -tte | puhutte |
| he (they) | -vat / -vät | puhuvat |
In everyday Finnish the pronouns minä, sinä, me and te are often left out, because the ending already shows the person: Puhun suomea. (I speak Finnish.)
How to recognise the type
Look at the end of the infinitive. Checking in this order works for almost every verb:
| Type | Infinitive ends in | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | two vowels: -aa, -ea, -ia, -oa, -ua, -ää, -eä, -iä, -yä… | puhua, ottaa, lukea, kysyä |
| 2 | -da / -dä | syödä, juoda, saada |
| 3 | consonant + -la/-lä, -na/-nä, -ra/-rä, or -sta/-stä | tulla, mennä, purra, nousta |
| 4 | -ata/-ätä, -ota/-ötä, -uta/-ytä | haluta, tavata, pelata |
| 5 | -ita / -itä | tarvita, valita |
| 6 | -eta / -etä | vanheta, lämmetä |
Types 4, 5 and 6 all end in vowel + ta/tä. Look at the vowel before -ta: e.g. haluta (u → type 4), tarvita (i → type 5), vanheta (e → type 6).
Type 1: puhua
Stem: drop the final -a/-ä. puhua → puhu-. In the hän form the last vowel of the stem gets longer: puhuu, kysyy, lukee.
Type 1 is the biggest group. Many type 1 verbs have consonant gradation: the weak grade in the minä, sinä, me, te forms and the strong grade in hän and he: ottaa → otan, otat, ottaa, otamme, otatte, ottavat; lukea → luen, luet, lukee, luemme, luette, lukevat.
Common type 1 verbs: asua (to live), sanoa (to say), ottaa (to take), lukea (to read), kirjoittaa (to write), oppia (to learn), ymmärtää (to understand), tietää (to know), nukkua (to sleep), kysyä (to ask), istua (to sit), kertoa (to tell).
Type 2: syödä
Stem: drop -da/-dä. syödä → syö-. The hän form has no ending: hän syö. These verbs are usually short and very common.
Common type 2 verbs: juoda (to drink), saada (to get, may), voida (to be able to), käydä (to visit, go), myydä (to sell), jäädä (to stay). Two important verbs are irregular: tehdä (to do, make): teen, teet, tekee, teemme, teette, tekevät; and nähdä (to see): näen, näet, näkee, näemme, näette, näkevät.
Type 3: tulla
Stem: drop the last two letters and add -e. tulla → tul- → tule-; mennä → mene-; nousta → nouse-; pestä → pese-. The hän form lengthens the e: tulee.
Some type 3 verbs have reverse gradation: the infinitive has the weak grade and the stem has the strong one: kuunnella → kuuntelen (to listen), ajatella → ajattelen (to think).
Common type 3 verbs: mennä (to go), opiskella (to study), kävellä (to walk), kuunnella (to listen), ajatella (to think), nousta (to get up), pestä (to wash). The most important verb of all, olla (to be), is type 3 but irregular: olen, olet, on, olemme, olette, ovat.
Type 4: haluta
Stem: drop -ta/-tä and add -a/-ä. haluta → halua-; tavata → tapaa-. In the hän form the stem ends in a long vowel: haluaa, tapaa.
Type 4 also has reverse gradation: tavata → tapaan (to meet), hypätä → hyppään (to jump), pudota → putoan (to fall).
Common type 4 verbs: pelata (to play a game), vastata (to answer), avata (to open), osata (to know how to), tilata (to order), siivota (to clean), herätä (to wake up), tavata (to meet).
Type 5: tarvita
Stem: drop -ta/-tä and add -tse. tarvita → tarvitse-. The hän form lengthens the e: tarvitsee.
Common type 5 verbs: valita (to choose), häiritä (to disturb), merkitä (to mean, mark), mainita (to mention), hallita (to rule, master).
Type 6: vanheta
Stem: drop -ta/-tä and add -ne. vanheta → vanhene-. Most type 6 verbs mean to become something: vanheta (to grow old), lämmetä (to get warmer), kylmetä (to get colder), pimetä (to get dark). Gradation is reversed here too: lämmetä → lämpenee, paeta → pakenen (to escape).
Type 6 is the smallest group. A few verbs ending in -eta, such as kiivetä (to climb: kiipeän), conjugate like type 4, so check new -eta verbs in a dictionary.
Present tense: one verb of each type
| Person | puhua (1) | syödä (2) | tulla (3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| minä | puhun | syön | tulen |
| sinä | puhut | syöt | tulet |
| hän | puhuu | syö | tulee |
| me | puhumme | syömme | tulemme |
| te | puhutte | syötte | tulette |
| he | puhuvat | syövät | tulevat |
| Person | haluta (4) | tarvita (5) | vanheta (6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| minä | haluan | tarvitsen | vanhenen |
| sinä | haluat | tarvitset | vanhenet |
| hän | haluaa | tarvitsee | vanhenee |
| me | haluamme | tarvitsemme | vanhenemme |
| te | haluatte | tarvitsette | vanhenette |
| he | haluavat | tarvitsevat | vanhenevat |
Asun Tampereella.
I live in Tampere.
Syötkö lihaa?
Do you eat meat?
Hän tulee huomenna.
He/she is coming tomorrow.
Haluamme kahvia.
We want coffee.
Tarvitsetteko apua?
Do you need help?
Illalla ilma kylmenee.
In the evening the air gets colder.
A quick check: the minä form minus -n gives you the stem used in the negative: puhun → en puhu, tarvitsen → en tarvitse. See the Finnish negative verb.
Learning verbs in practice
- Learn each new verb with its minä form: ottaa, otan; tavata, tapaan. That one pair shows the type and the gradation.
- Start with the most common verbs of types 1, 2 and 3. They cover most of what you say every day.
- The past tense builds on the same stems. See the Finnish past tense.
Practise with Maija
Verb forms stick when you have to produce them in a real conversation. Maija asks you questions that need minä, sinä and me forms, listens to your answers and corrects the form if it's wrong. If you only mispronounce a sound, she tells you that it's an accent slip rather than a grammar mistake. Take the free level check to start at your level.
Frequently asked questions
How many verb types are there in Finnish?+
There are six verb types, decided by how the infinitive ends. A few very common verbs, such as olla, tehdä and nähdä, are irregular.
What is the most common Finnish verb type?+
Type 1 (verbs ending in two vowels, like puhua and ottaa) is the largest group. Types 2 and 3 contain many very frequent verbs such as syödä, juoda, tulla, mennä and olla.
How do I find the stem of a Finnish verb?+
It depends on the type: type 1 drops -a/-ä, type 2 drops -da/-dä, type 3 drops two letters and adds -e, type 4 drops -ta and adds -a, type 5 adds -tse and type 6 adds -ne.
Why is it tavata but tapaan?+
Types 3, 4 and 6 often have reverse consonant gradation: the infinitive has the weak grade (v) and the conjugated forms the strong grade (p).