# taipuu



## oloekis

Sultahan taipuu suomi paljon paremmin kuin multa ruotsi.

Terve! 
I was told that "taipuu" comes from "taivuttaa", but how does the meaning fit in to the sentence above?


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## Spongiformi

Technically speaking "_taipuu_" is the third person singular of _"taipua"_.

Anyway, _"taipua" / "taivuttaa"_,  when speaking about languages, means inflection of words. Since being  able to apply inflection already tells a lot about your language skills,  it's quite appropriate as a figure of speech like in your example.  However, I reckon it also has another reason, coming from "bend" (which  covers both _"taipua" / "taivuttaa"), _because it gives an image you aren't stuck on stiff, straight, simple language but can bend it to your needs.

This is, of course, just my uneducated guess.


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## Hakro

I have another guess, also uneducated.

Especially in sports journalists' language, _taipua_ means "surrender, suffer defeat, be defeated, be subjugated etc.", and here it might mean that this person masters the Finnish language.


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## sakvaka

Hakro said:


> I have another guess, also uneducated.
> 
> Especially in sports journalists' language, _taipua_ means "surrender, suffer defeat, be defeated, be subjugated etc.", and here it might mean that this person masters the Finnish language.



I concur.


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