In Finnish, you can describe actions that are casual, continuous, or repeated by using verbs that end in the suffix -ella or -ellä. These are known as frequentative verbs.
Casual and Continuous Actions
Adding -ella or -ellä to a base verb softens the action. It implies doing something here and there, without a strict goal, or just taking your time. For example, katsoa (to look) becomes katsella (to look around, to watch).
Grammatically, verbs ending in -ella or -ellä belong to Verb Type 3. To conjugate them, drop the final -la or -lä, add an -e-, and attach the personal ending (for example, katsella becomes minä katselen).
A Lazy Weekend
Because frequentative verbs describe leisurely, ongoing actions, they are perfect for setting the scene of a relaxing day indoors or a quiet walk. Actions like strolling (astella), humming (hyräillä), tasting (maistella), and singing casually (laulella) all use this pattern.
Repeated Actions
This suffix doesn't just mean an action is relaxed—it can also mean the action happens repeatedly. For instance, while kysyä means "to ask" a single question, kysellä means "to ask around" or "to keep asking" multiple questions.