In this article, we will take a look at the different way to say TO TRY in Finnish. This article is especially important if you’re learning about verb rections: the verbs below all have different rections:

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• Yrittää + verb in the infinitive
• Kokeilla + partitive object
• Sovittaa + partitive object
• Koetella + partitive object
• Tavoitella + partitive object
• Koettaa + verb in the infinitive / partitive object
• Pyrkiä + verb in the maan form / object in the mihin form

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1. Yrittää

The most standard way to say “to try” is yrittää. It is followed by a second verb in its infinitive form.

2. Kokeilla

The verb kokeilla is a derivate from the noun koe “test, trial”. Most of the time, kokeilla means “to try on” or “to try out”. It refers to the act of checking whether something fits us or whether it works for us. Kokeilla is a partitive verb. You can’t add a verb after kokeilla.

3. Sovittaa

The verb sovittaa is a derivate from the verb sopia “to fit, to be suitable”. The verb sovittaa is used most often for trying out clothes and such. It’s a partitive verb.

Sovittaa has other meanings, but those are completely unrelated to trying and, thus, not covered in this article. Some examples: sovittaa valokuva kehykseen (“to fit a picture into a frame”), sovittaa palaveri aikatauluun (“to plan a meeting into the schedule”), and sovittaa riitaa (“to reconcile a dispute”).

4. Pyrkiä

The verb pyrkiä is probably my favorite one of the bunch. It’s means “to try to get into”. I think it’s pretty cool to have a single verb for this whole concept. Often, it can also be translated as “to attempt” or “to run for”. Yrittää usually carries the connotation that the attempt requires an effort; it’s not easy to succeed. The verb pyrkiä usually just means one try with high stakes.

Because of its “into” meaning, it will usually be used with the mihin form of the word connected to it. When running for office or another position, you will use the translative case. We can also follow up pyrkiä with a second verb: this verb will appear in the -maan form.

5. Tavoitella

Just like pyrkiä, the verb tavoitella has the added meaning that something is hard to reach or achieve. With tavoitella, you’re generally trying constantly or repeatedly. Often, it can be translated as “to seek”.

Alternatively, because of the noun it’s derived from (tavoite “goal”), you can also come across this verb in situations where a goal has been set and now it is being attempted to achieve: you’re aiming for something.

6. Koettaa

The verb koettaa comes from the noun koe “test, trial”. It can be used in combination with both verbs (in the infinitive form) and nouns (in the partitive). In spoken language, koettaa can often be used as a synonym for both sovittaa and yrittää.

In addition, it’s used in certain fixed situations, such as koettaa voimia “try one’s strength” and koettaa onnea “try one’s luck”. In these cases, it doesn’t refer to us trying something. Rather, something is trying us; putting difficulties in our way. You might hear the verb koittaa used in spoken language instead of koettaa.

7. Koetella

The verb koetella is also a derivate from the noun koe “test, trial”. It’s almost exclusively used to mean that something is trying us: e.g. our strength, our patience. In constrast with koettaa, koetella means the testing is long-lasting and repeated. The object of these sentences will be inflected in the partitive case.

Those were the verbs most commonly used to say TO TRY in Finnish.