to last
- Kuinka kauan tämä kestää? - How long will this last?
- Kylläpä se kesti! - Man, that took a long time!
- Mikä sulla kestää? - What's taking you so long?
to stand, to tolerate, to cope, to hold up
- Kuinka te kestätte toisianne? - How can you stand each other?
- Mä en kestä tätä enää! - I cannot take this anymore.
- Kestä vielä vähän aikaa. - Hold up for a while.
to be strong enough
- Kestääkö tämä tuoli minua? - Can I sit on this chair or will it break?
- Jää ei kestä enää. - The ice is not strong enough (for people to walk on it) anymore.
These words are derived from kestää:
- kestävä: Tämä on tosi kestävää materiaalia. - This is really durable material.
- kesto-: Käytättekö kestovaippoja? - Do you use cloth diapers?
Finally, here's the explanation for Eipä kestä:
Back in the old days, one of the meanings of kestää was to deserve. Maybe it's still like that in some dialects, but I cannot think of an example. When we answer Ei kestä or Eipä kestä to Kiitos, we actually mean Ei kestä kiittää. = Whatever I said or did wasn't so special that it would deserve a thank you.
About the author of Random Finnish Lesson:
My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.