Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen?

Could you empty the dishwasher?

Breakdown of Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen?

• sinä: you
• voida: to be able to
• astianpesukone: the dishwasher
• tyhjentää: to empty

Questions & Answers about Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen?

What exactly is voisitko, grammatically?

It’s the 2nd person singular conditional of voida (to be able, can) plus the yes–no question clitic:

• voisin, voisit, voisi… are conditional forms
• voisit = you could
• voisitko = could you? (the clitic -ko makes it a question)

It’s the standard polite way to make a request in Finnish.

Why is the question clitic -ko here and not -kö?

The clitic follows vowel harmony. It’s:

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

Since voisit- contains the back vowel o (and neutral vowels i/e don’t affect harmony), you get voisitko. If you instead used a front-vowel verb, you might get -kö (e.g., tyhjentäisitkö).

How polite is Voisitko… compared to Voitko…?

• Voisitko… (“Could you…”) is softer and more polite.
• Voitko… (“Can you…”) is more direct but still acceptable among friends or family. To be extra soft/polite, add a politeness word: Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen, kiitos.

Could I say Tyhjentäisitkö astianpesukoneen? What’s the difference?

Yes. Tyhjentäisitkö… puts the conditional on the main verb (“Would you empty…”) rather than on voida (“Could you empty…”). Both are polite requests; Tyhjentäisitkö can feel a touch more direct/goal-focused, but in practice they’re both fine.

Why does astianpesukoneen end with -n here?

That -n is the genitive singular, used here as the “total object.” You’re requesting an action that affects the whole thing (empty the entire dishwasher), so the object is marked as total:

• total/complete object (affirmative, non-imperative): genitive → astianpesukoneen

When would it be astianpesukonetta instead?

Use the partitive for:

• An incomplete/ongoing action: Tyhjennän astianpesukonetta. (“I’m emptying the dishwasher.”)
• Negation: En tyhjennä astianpesukonetta. (“I’m not emptying the dishwasher.”)
• Indeterminate quantity/result.

Why does the form change in the imperative?

In the 2nd person singular imperative, a total object is typically in the nominative (no -n):

• Tyhjennä astianpesukone! (“Empty the dishwasher!”) Not: ❌Tyhjennä astianpesukoneen.

What is the structure of the compound astianpesukone?

It’s a single compound word:

• astia = dish, vessel
• linking genitive -n
• pesu = washing
• kone = machine → astianpesukone = dishwasher Finnish writes compounds as one word.

Can I use a more colloquial word than astianpesukone?

Yes, tiskikone is common in everyday speech. So:

• Voisitko tyhjentää tiskikoneen? is perfectly natural informally.

Why is tyhjentää in the infinitive?

After voida (“can, could”), the following verb is in the 1st infinitive:

• voisitko + tyhjentää (“could you + empty”) This is the normal pattern with modal-like verbs (e.g., haluta tyhjentää, “to want to empty”).

What’s the difference between tyhjentää, tyhjennän, tyhjennä, and tyhjentäisit?

• tyhjentää = “to empty” (dictionary/infinitive form)
• tyhjennän = “I empty / I’m emptying” (1st person singular present)
• tyhjennä = “empty!” (2nd person singular imperative)
• tyhjentäisit = “you would empty” (2nd person singular conditional)

How do I address more than one person or be formally polite?

Use the plural:

• Voisitteko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen?
• Tyhjentäisittekö astianpesukoneen? Addressing a single person with plural “you” (te) as a politeness strategy exists mainly in service contexts; among friends/family, sinä-forms are normal.

How do I add “please” in Finnish?

Common options:

• Add kiitos: Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen, kiitos.
• Use softeners: Voisitko ystävällisesti…, Olisitko kiltti ja…
• The conditional already softens the request; overt “please” is less obligatory than in English.

Is voisitko about ability or politeness?

It’s primarily a politeness formula for requests. It doesn’t literally probe your physical ability; it’s closer to “Would you mind… / Could you (please)…”.

Any tips on pronunciation and stress?

• Primary stress is always on the first syllable: VOIsitko TYHjen­tää AS­tian­pe­su­ko­neen.
• Long vowels are written double: ää in tyhjentää, ee in koneen (the end of astianpesukoneen).
• The cluster in tyhjentää is pronounced smoothly (think “TYH‑yen‑tää”); keep vowels distinct.

Can the clitic -ko/-kö attach somewhere else?

Yes, to change focus:

• Tyhjennätkö astianpesukoneen? (“Will you empty the dishwasher?” more direct)
• Sinäkö tyhjentäisit…? (“You would empty…?” focusing on “you”)
• Astianpesukoneenko tyhjentäisit? (focusing the object; often echo/contrastive) Attaching it to the finite verb is the neutral yes–no question pattern.

Can I reorder the words?

Yes, Finnish allows flexible word order for emphasis. Neutral is:

• Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen? A focused variant is possible:
• Voisitko astianpesukoneen tyhjentää? (spotlights the object)

How else could I ask the same thing, more or less directly?

• More direct: Tyhjennätkö astianpesukoneen?
• Command softened with a clitic: Tyhjennäthän astianpesukoneen.
• Very casual colloquial: Voitsä tyhjentää tiskikoneen? / Voitko sä tyhjentää…?

How do I talk about timing (now, later, etc.)?

Use adverbs rather than changing the verb:

• Voisitko tyhjentää astianpesukoneen nyt / pian / myöhemmin / huomenna?