/ˈsitːen/, [ˈs̠it̪ːe̞n]
AlkuperäLikely a confluence of two dialectal forms, siittä and siiten, of roughly equivalent meaning; the former is si(i)- + -ttä (with the same suffix as in että and jotta), and the latter si(i)- + -ten (compare siten). Not related to Swedish sedan or Old English siþþan, although it is not impossible that the phonologically similar Swedish word has influenced the use of Finnish sitten through the literary language.
- then (soon afterward; next in order of place)
“Ensin syödään, sitten jutellaan.” — First we eat, then we chat.
“Maksa sitten verelläsi!” — Then pay with your blood!
“Sitten voisimme puhua vaikka tästä.” — Next we could talk about this.
- when, (when)ever (with the conjunction kun)
“Sitten, kun jään eläkkeelle...” — When I retire...
“Lähdemme sitten, kun olet valmis.” — We’ll go whenever you’re ready.
“Sitten kun olet tehnyt läksysi, voimme katsella televisiota.” — When you have done your homework, we can watch the television.
- then, in that case
“No sitten ei ole mitään hätää.” — Well then it's not urgent.
- Used for emphasis, often without any additional meaning.
“...tai sitten ei” — ...or not
“Puhutaan siitä sitten ensi kerralla.” — Let's just talk about it the next time around.
- used to emphasize or intensify questions
“entä sitten?” — so what?
“mitä sitten?” — then what?
“Oliko aiempi väitteesi sitten vain liioittelua?” — So was your earlier claim just an exaggeration?
- acts as an emphatic modifier for tahansa ... (-kin) expressions used to mean "whatever", "whoever"...
“Kenelle tahansa sen sitten annatkin, älä anna sitä minulle.” — Whomever you give it to, don't give it to me.
- ago
“tunti sitten” — one hour ago
“kolme vuotta sitten” — three years ago
“kauan sitten” — long ago
- since
“Emme ole tavanneet sitten viime vuoden.” — We haven't met since last year.
Muodotsiitten(alternative, dialectal)