Näetkö tämän symbolin?

Näetkö means do you see?

It is made from:

• näe- = the verb stem from nähdä (to see)
• -t = you (2nd person singular)
• -kö = the yes/no question particle

So:

• näet = you see
• näetkö? = do you see?

-kö / -ko turns a statement into a yes/no question.

Compare:

• Näet tämän symbolin. = You see this symbol.
• Näetkö tämän symbolin? = Do you see this symbol?

Which form is used depends on vowel harmony:

• -kö after front vowels like ä, ö, y
• -ko after back vowels like a, o, u

Because näet contains ä, the question ending is -kö.

Because tämän is the inflected form of tämä (this).

Here, tämän symbolin is the object of the verb, and Finnish marks that with a special object form. In this sentence, that form looks like the genitive singular:

• tämä = this
• tämän = form used here for this as part of the object phrase

So tämän symbolin means this symbol as the thing being seen.

For the same reason as tämän: the object is in the total object form.

In an affirmative sentence like this, a singular total object usually looks like the genitive singular:

• symboli = symbol
• symbolin = object form here

So:

• Näet symbolin. = You see the symbol.
• Näetkö tämän symbolin? = Do you see this symbol?

This is one of the trickier parts of Finnish grammar: the object form often depends on the type of sentence.

Because words in the noun phrase have to match grammatically.

Here:

• tämän = demonstrative (this) in the required form
• symbolin = noun (symbol) in the required form

Finnish usually makes the modifier agree with the noun in case and number, so both words change together.

It is neutral and natural in everyday Finnish.

The verb form is 2nd person singular, so it means you when talking to one person:

• Näetkö tämän symbolin? = Do you see this symbol?

Finnish does not force the same kind of formal/informal distinction that many European languages do. If you wanted to be more formally plural/polite, you could use:

• Näettekö tämän symbolin? = Do you see this symbol? / Do you all see this symbol?

Yes. Finnish word order is fairly flexible, although Näetkö tämän symbolin? is the most neutral order.

Different orders can add emphasis:

• Näetkö tämän symbolin? = neutral
• Tämän symbolinko näet? = emphasizes this symbol
• Symbolinko näet? = emphasizes symbol

But for a learner, the original sentence is the safest and most natural version.

A rough guide:

• Näetkö ≈ NA-eth-kø
• tämän ≈ TA-man with ä
• symbolin ≈ SYM-bo-lin

A few key points:

• ä is not the same as English a. It is more like the vowel in British cat for many speakers.
• y in symbolin is like German ü or French u.
• Stress in Finnish usually falls on the first syllable:
  • NÄ-et-kö
  • TÄ-män
  • SYM-bo-lin

The dictionary form is nähdä, which means to see.

This verb changes quite a lot when conjugated, so näet is not as transparent as some other verbs. Useful forms are:

• nähdä = to see
• näen = I see
• näet = you see
• näkee = he/she/it sees
• näette = you (plural) see

So näetkö is simply the question form of näet.

Yes. That would also be natural in many contexts.

• symboli = symbol
• merkki = sign, mark, symbol

The best choice depends on context:

• symboli sounds more like a symbol in a technical, visual, or abstract sense
• merkki can mean a sign, mark, symbol, or indication more broadly

So Näetkö tämän symbolin? is perfectly good, but there are other possible word choices depending on what exactly is meant.