Learn Hardcore Finnish: Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa. - Don’t hurry; you will make it on time.

Take the verb stem:
- kiirehtiä → kiirehti-
For type 1 verbs, the final -i of the stem changes to -e in many personal forms, and in the imperative you add - or - as needed. For kiirehtiä, the standard imperative form is kiirehdi!

So:

kiirehtiä (infinitive) → kiirehdi! (imperative singular)

And the negative command uses älä + this form:

Älä kiirehdi! = Don’t hurry!

You wouldn’t say älä kiirehti or älä kiirehtiä.

What does ehdit mean, and which verb is it from?

Ehdit is the 2nd person singular of the verb ehtiä, which can mean:

to have enough time (for something)
to manage to do something
to make it (in time)

Forms:

infinitive: ehtiä
minä ehdin = I make it / I have time
sinä ehdit = you make it / you have time

In the sentence ehdit kyllä ajoissa, ehdit means “you will make it” or “you’ll get there” (on time). Finnish uses the present tense here even though English uses future.

Why is ehdit in the present tense if the meaning is future (“you will make it”)?

Finnish often uses the present tense where English uses will for the future.

Context tells you that the action is in the future. Here, the situation is about arriving at some future time, so:

ehdit ajoissa literally: “you make it on time”
natural English: “you’ll be on time / you will make it in time”

This is very common:

Huomenna sataa. = “Tomorrow it rains” → “It will rain tomorrow.”
Nähdään illalla. = “We see each other in the evening” → “We’ll see each other in the evening.”

So present form, future meaning is normal in Finnish.

What is the role of kyllä in ehdit kyllä ajoissa? It doesn’t look like “yes” here.

Kyllä does mean “yes” in answers, but in this sentence it acts as an emphasizing particle.

Here kyllä adds reassurance or emphasis:

ehdit ajoissa = you’ll be on time
ehdit kyllä ajoissa = you’ll definitely / surely be on time

It can convey confidence, calmness, or even stubborn insistence, depending on tone of voice.

Some more examples of kyllä as an emphasis word:

Minä kyllä tiedän. = I do know / I definitely know.
Se tulee kyllä. = It will come, for sure.

So in this sentence, kyllä softens and reassures: you don’t need to hurry; you will make it.

Could the word order be Kyllä ehdit ajoissa, and if so, what’s the difference from ehdit kyllä ajoissa?

Yes, Kyllä ehdit ajoissa is also correct. Both are natural but slightly different in emphasis.

Ehdit kyllä ajoissa.
- Neutral reassurance.
- Emphasis is on “ehdit” (you will make it), with kyllä as a softer, internal emphasis.
Kyllä ehdit ajoissa.
- A bit more emphatic; it can feel more insistent or strongly reassuring.
- Putting kyllä first makes it more prominent, like saying “You will be on time, really.”

In everyday speech, both orders are used. Intonation and context decide how strong it feels.

What does ajoissa mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Ajoissa means “on time” / “in time”.

It’s related to aika = time, but historically it comes from the plural inessive of a related stem (like ajat → ajoissa). Literally, it’s something like “in (the) times”, but in modern Finnish you just memorize:

ajoissa = on time

Examples:

Olin ajoissa. = I was on time.
Tule ajoissa. = Come on time.
Ehdimme ajoissa. = We made it in time.

You normally don’t change its form; you just use ajoissa as-is.

Why is there no word for “you” in the sentence? How do we know it means “you”?

Finnish usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person.

Älä kiirehdi.
- Verb kiirehdi is 2nd person singular imperative → subject = “you”.
Ehdit kyllä ajoissa.
- Verb ehdit is 2nd person singular present → subject = “you”.

You could add the pronoun for emphasis:

Älä sinä kiirehdi. = Don’t you hurry.
Sinä ehdit kyllä ajoissa. = You will be on time (for sure).

But in neutral speech, the pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action.

What is the difference between Älä kiirehdi and something like Älä pidä kiirettä?

Both can be translated as “Don’t hurry”, but they feel a bit different:

Älä kiirehdi.
- Direct: “Don’t hurry.”
- Focuses on the action of hurrying.
- Often used when someone is clearly rushing or about to rush.
Älä pidä kiirettä.
- Literally: “Don’t keep a hurry.”
- More like: “Take your time,” “No rush.”
- Sounds a bit softer/politer, less like a command, more like permission to go slow.

In your sentence, Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa is a mix of a direct instruction and reassuring follow-up.

Why is there a semicolon (;) between Älä kiirehdi and ehdit kyllä ajoissa? Could there be a period instead?

The semicolon ; is mainly stylistic here.

Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa.
Älä kiirehdi. Ehdit kyllä ajoissa.

Both are correct. The meaning is the same.

The semicolon shows that the two parts are very closely connected, almost like cause and effect:

Don’t hurry, because you’ll still make it on time.

In casual writing, many Finns would just use a period.

How would this sentence change if I’m talking to more than one person (“you all”)?

For plural “you”, you change both the negative imperative and the main verb:

Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa.
→ to one person

Plural (“you all”):

Älkää kiirehtikö; ehditte kyllä ajoissa.

Breakdown:

älkää = plural negative imperative (“don’t you [all]”)
kiirehtikö = plural imperative form of kiirehtiä
ehditte = you (plural) make it / will make it

So the plural version is: Älkää kiirehtikö; ehditte kyllä ajoissa.

Is Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

This sentence is neutral and common in everyday speech.

It’s addressed to one person (singular you).
It’s not particularly formal or slangy.

You can use it with:

family and friends
colleagues
strangers, if the context is friendly (e.g., reassuring a customer or student)

For very formal written instructions you might see more impersonal structures, but for spoken Finnish this is a natural, polite way to reassure someone.

Could kyllä ever sound negative or annoyed in a sentence like this?

Yes, kyllä can sound annoyed, impatient, or sarcastic depending on tone and context. The word itself is neutral; the tone of voice makes the difference.

Examples of annoyed uses:

Kyllä minä tiedän.
- Neutral: I do know.
- Annoyed tone: “I know, okay?”

In Älä kiirehdi; ehdit kyllä ajoissa, said gently, kyllä is reassuring: “You’ll definitely be on time.”

Said with a sharp or irritated tone, it could sound more like: “Stop rushing, you will be on time, for heaven’s sake.”

Context and intonation decide the mood.