Finnish can give a command to someone who is not even in the conversation. The third-person imperative — traditionally called the jussive — means "let him/her/it do it," "may they do it," "have them do it." Its ending is -koon / -köön in the singular and -koot / -kööt in the plural, and unlike the everyday mene! ("go!"), this form has largely retreated into set phrases, formal proclamations and biblical or legal style. This page shows how it is built and, just as importantly, where it actually turns up in modern Finnish. The second-person commands are covered separately on the imperative overview.
How it is built
Take the strong imperative stem — the same stem that gives the plural command menkää! — and add -koon / -köön for a singular subject, -koot / -kööt for a plural one:
| Verb | 3rd sg (-koon/-köön) | 3rd pl (-koot/-kööt) | Gloss (sg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| mennä | menköön | menkööt | let him/her go |
| tulla | tulkoon | tulkoot | let him/her come |
| ottaa | ottakoon | ottakoot | let him/her take |
| puhua | puhukoon | puhukoot | let him/her speak |
| tehdä | tehköön | tehkööt | let him/her do |
| olla | olkoon | olkoot | let it be |
Tulkoon sisään, jos hän niin haluaa.
Let him come in, if that's what he wants.
Hän menköön itse, jos se on hänelle niin tärkeää.
Let him go himself, if it's so important to him.
Why English "let" is misleading
English translates this form with the helper verb let — "let him go." That is a fair gloss, but it can send you looking for a Finnish word meaning "let," and there is none. The permission-and-command meaning is baked into the suffix -koon itself. Compare:
Antakaa hänen mennä.
Let him go. (= allow him to go — a real 'let/allow' with the verb antaa)
Menköön.
Let him go. (= so be it, he may go — a resigned or authorising jussive)
The first is a genuine "allow"; the second is the jussive, often carrying a shade of "fine, whatever, let him." Getting this distinction right is the mark of an advanced learner.
Where it really lives: set phrases
In modern Finnish the third-person imperative is only marginally productive. You will most often meet it frozen into fixed expressions, blessings, slogans and elevated style. These are worth memorising as whole units:
Olkoon niin.
So be it. / Let it be so.
Eläköön vapaus!
Long live freedom!
Olkoon hän sitten oikeassa — ei sillä ole väliä.
Fine, let him be right then — it doesn't matter.
Eläköön! (from elää, "to live") is the standard Finnish cheer — the exact equivalent of "long live…!" or "hurrah!" — and it survives in full colloquial use precisely because it is a fixed exclamation. Olkoon (from olla) turns up constantly in the concessive sense "let it be / granted / whatever":
Olkoonpa vaikka kallista, minä ostan sen.
Even if it's expensive, I'm buying it.
Here the enclitic -pa plus olkoon builds a whole concessive clause meaning "let it even be (the case that)…", i.e. "no matter if." This idiomatic olkoon is discussed further among the olla idioms.
Formal, legal and biblical register
Beyond fixed phrases, the jussive is the natural mood of prayers, laws, wishes and proclamations — third-person "may…" statements addressed to the world at large. This is where a whole clause can be built on it:
Tulkoon sinun valtakuntasi.
Thy kingdom come. (from the Lord's Prayer)
Jokainen tehköön parhaansa.
Let everyone do their best.
Ne jotka ovat eri mieltä, ilmoittakoot siitä kirjallisesti.
Those who disagree may state so in writing. (bureaucratic/legal style)
That last example shows the plural -koot / -kööt (ilmoittakoot, from ilmoittaa) agreeing with a plural subject. Outside such elevated contexts, everyday Finnish would rephrase these with pitää ("must"), saada ("may"), or a simple voi ("can") construction rather than the bare jussive.
Common Mistakes
❌ Anna hän mennä.
Two errors: 'let/allow' takes antaa + genitive (hänen), and 'let him go' as a wish is simply menköön.
✅ Antakaa hänen mennä. / Menköön.
Let him go. (allow him / so be it)
❌ Menkoon.
Harmony error — mennä is a front-vowel verb, so the ending must be -köön: menköön.
✅ Menköön.
Let him go.
❌ He menköön kotiin.
Number mismatch — a plural subject (he, 'they') needs the plural -kööt: menkööt.
✅ He menkööt kotiin.
Let them go home.
❌ Elää kuningas!
This is just the infinitive 'to live' — the cheer 'long live the king!' uses the jussive: Eläköön kuningas!
✅ Eläköön kuningas!
Long live the king!
Key Takeaways
- The third-person (jussive) imperative = strong stem + -koon/-köön (sg), -koot/-kööt (pl): menköön, tulkoon, ottakoot.
- It means "let / may him/her/it/them do," but there is no separate word for 'let' — the meaning is in the suffix.
- In modern Finnish it is (formal / literary) and survives mainly in set phrases (olkoon niin, eläköön!) and biblical/legal style.
- Distinguish the jussive menköön ("so be it, let him go") from a real permission antaa hänen mennä ("allow him to go").
- Harmony picks -koon vs -köön; the plural subject forces -koot/-kööt.
Now practice Finnish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Finnish→Related Topics
- The Imperative: CommandsA1 — The Finnish command mood, person by person: familiar mene!, plural/polite menkää!, 'let's' mennään, third-person menköön — and how negatives use älä / älkää.
- Negative Commands: älä, älkää, älköönA2 — How Finnish says 'don't!': the special negative imperative verb älä/älkää/älköön/älkäämme/älkööt plus the connegative in -ko/-kö.
- Plural/Formal Command: menkää!A2 — The -kaa/-kää command for plural 'you' and for polite single address: menkää!, puhukaa!, ottakaa!, tulkaa!. It keeps the strong grade — ota! but ottakaa!.
- olla Idioms: olla nälkä, olla kiireA1 — The olla + noun state idioms where English uses 'be' + adjective — minulla on nälkä (I'm hungry), on kiire, on kylmä — built on the adessive possessor, plus the older genitive variant and the outliers olla oikeassa, olla varaa and olla ikävä.