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Hän hätkähti, kun näki kaksi poliisia.

Hän hätkähti, kun näki kaksi poliisia.
He was taken aback when he saw two policemen.
From Lesson 318:Momentary verbs (-ahtaa)·Finnish

Questions & Answers about Hän hätkähti, kun näki kaksi poliisia.

How does the -ähtää suffix work in the verb hätkähti?
The suffix -ahtaa or -ähtää creates a momentane verb, meaning the action is sudden, brief, and happens only once. In this sentence, it turns the action into a quick, sudden startle or flinch, rather than a continuous state of fear.
Is hätkähtää related to the noun hätä (emergency)?
Yes, it is! Hätä means emergency, distress, or panic. Adding the momentane suffix adapts this root into a sudden, physical reaction: experiencing a split-second flash of panic, which we translate here as being "taken aback" or flinching.
Why is the subject missing before näki? Shouldn't it be "kun hän näki"?
You absolutely can include hän, but it is very common to drop it in a subordinate clause (like one starting with kun) if the subject is exactly the same as in the main clause. The listener already knows hän is the one doing the action.
Just as a refresher, why is it kaksi poliisia (partitive singular) instead of a plural form?
In Finnish, all numbers greater than one require the noun that follows them to be in the partitive singular, not plural. Therefore, the number kaksi triggers the singular partitive form poliisia.

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