Kriips

Kriips is a term found in several Baltic languages that denotes a dash-like punctuation mark, generally a short or connecting line used in writing. In languages such as Estonian and Latvian, kriips refers to the character or type of mark that serves functions similar to a hyphen or dash in English, including joining words to form compounds and indicating word breaks or pauses in text. The exact typographic usage of kriips can differ between languages and style guides, with particular rules governing when a hyphen versus a dash is appropriate and how it interacts with line breaks and word formation.

In practice, kriips is described in linguistic and typographic resources as the generic name for this category of punctuation within those languages, rather than as a single universal symbol. The term helps speakers discuss hyphenation conventions, compound word formation, and dash usage in a language-specific context. As a result, paralanguage references, dictionaries, and grammar guides may treat kriips as the standard label for dash-like marks rather than specifying a one-to-one equivalence with the English hyphen, en dash, or em dash.

Capitalized form usage, Kriips, can appear as a surname or place name in the region, though such occurrences are uncommon. In casual or online contexts, it may also be used as a nickname or handle. Overall, kriips functions as a language-specific term for dash-like punctuation within Baltic orthography. See also: hyphen, dash, punctuation.