Lyhennä

Lyhennä is the imperative mood form of the Finnish verb lyhentää, meaning to shorten or abbreviate. It is used to issue a direct command to shorten something, with the understood subject being you.

Morphology and usage: Lyhennä is the second-person singular imperative. It is formed from the verb stem lyhentä- plus the imperative ending -ä, following Finnish vowel harmony. The negative imperative is älä lyhennä (“do not shorten”). In everyday language, lyhennä appears in editing instructions, guidance on writing concisely, and computer prompts that request brevity.

Examples: Lyhennä tämä teksti. Lyhennä kappaleen pituus. Lyhennä otsikko, jotta se mahtuu rivinleveyteen.

Semantics: The command emphasizes conciseness and economy of words, a dimension often important in journalism, technical writing, and user interfaces.

See also: lyhentää (the infinitive), lyhyt (short), tiivistää (to summarize, to condense).

---