Breakdown of Kirous tuhoutukoon ja kuningas eläköön!
ja
and
kuningas
king
elää
to live, to be alive
kirous
curse
tuhoutua
to be destroyed
Questions & Answers about Kirous tuhoutukoon ja kuningas eläköön!
How exactly do we form the 3rd person imperative forms tuhoutukoon and eläköön?
You take the strong vowel stem of the verb and add the suffix -koon or -köön (depending on vowel harmony). For tuhoutua (to be destroyed), the stem is tuhoutu-, making tuhoutukoon. For elää (to live), the stem is elä-, making eläköön.
The English translation says "let the curse be destroyed". Why isn't the Finnish verb in the passive imperative (tuhottakoon)?
In Finnish, the verb tuhoutua is an automative verb, meaning "to get destroyed" or "to destroy itself", so it functions grammatically in the active voice here. Using the passive imperative tuhottakoon would imply "let [someone] destroy the curse", whereas tuhoutukoon focuses purely on the curse dissolving naturally without emphasizing an external actor.
Is eläköön only used in old-fashioned or poetic contexts like "let the king live"?
While the 3rd person imperative (the jussive) often sounds formal or archaic in complete sentences, eläköön is widely used in modern everyday Finnish as a standalone exclamation meaning "Hurrah!" or "Long live!". For example, you will often hear Eläköön! shouted at celebrations or see playful phrases like Eläköön viikonloppu! (Long live the weekend!).
Learn Kirous tuhoutukoon ja kuningas eläköön and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free