vastaan

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑstɑːn/, [ˈʋɑ̝s̠tɑ̝ːn]
• Rhymes: -ɑstɑːn
• Syllabification^(key): vas‧taan

Etymology 1

Illative singular of vasta-.

Adverb

vastaan

1. back (in return; in a manner that impedes)

   Synonym: takaisin

   hymyillä vastaan ― to smile back

   taistella vastaan ― to fight back

Postposition

vastaan

1. towards [with partitive and／or (with personal pronouns only) possessive suffix] (in the direction of, especially when one is moving in the opposite direction, thus implying that both are moving towards each other)

   Synonym: vasten

   tulla jotakuta vastaan ― to come towards one; to pick somebody up

   Hän käveli minua vastaan. / Hän käveli vastaani. ― S/he walked towards me.

2. against [with partitive] (in a contrary direction to)

   Antonym: mukana

   uida virtaa vastaan ― to swim against the stream

3. against [with partitive] (as protection from)

   pinnoite likaa vastaan ― coating (to protect) against dirt

4. (of an opinion) against, contra [with partitive and／or (uncommon, with personal pronouns only) possessive suffix] (in opposition to)

   Antonym: puolesta

   Oletko sotaa vastaan? ― Are you against the war?

5. against [with partitive] (contrary to; in conflict with)

   periaatteitani vastaan ― against my principles

6. (commerce) for; against [with partitive] (in exchange for)

   Myisimmekö auton taloa vastaan? ― Would we sell a car for a house?

   kuittia vastaan ― against a receipt

Usage notes

• The possessive forms, which can only be used with personal pronouns, are optional. They are quite common in the sense "towards", but not so much in the sense "against (opinion)".

Preposition

vastaan [with nominative]

1. versus, against

Inflection

Declension of vasta- noun case singular plural adverbial form singular plural nominative vasta- – superessive – – genitive – – delative – – partitive – – sublative – – accusative – – lative – – inessive vastassa – temporal – – elative – – causative – – illative vastaan – multiplicative – – adessive – – distributive – – ablative – – temp. dist. – – allative – – prolative – – essive – – situative vastakkain – translative – – oppositive vastatusten – abessive – – instructive vasten vastoin comitative – –

Personal/possessive forms of vastaan
no possessor	vastaan
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	vastaani	vastaamme
2nd person	vastaasi	vastaanne
3rd person	vastaansa

Derived terms

• ottaa vastaan

 

compounds

• vastaanhangoittelu
• vastaanotettava
• vastaanottaa
• vastaanotto
• vastaanpanija
• vastaanpano
• vastaansanomaton
• vastaantuleva
• vastaantulija
• vastaantulo

 

Related terms

• See the inflection table.
• vasta-

Further reading

• “vastaan”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-01

Etymology 2

Verb

vastaan

1. first-person singular present indicative of vastata

Etymology 3

Noun

vastaan

1. illative singular of vasta

Anagrams

• navasta, vanasta, vatsaan, vatsana