Rikkoontua

Rikkoontua is a Finnish inchoative verb meaning to become broken or damaged. It describes a change of state affecting an inanimate object or system, rather than an action carried out by a person. The form is built from the verb rikkoa (to break) with the suffix -ontua, which marks a transition into the resulting state.

In linguistic terms, rikkoontua is used to express that something undergoes a process of becoming defective, worn, or impaired. It is typically intransitive, focusing on the subject that experiences the change while the cause may be implicit, such as wear, impact, or fault.

Usage and context are common in descriptions of machinery, electronics, construction, and everyday objects that degrade or fail over time. The word is often found in technical or consumer-language discussions about faults, durability, and product reliability, as well as in accident or incident reports where a device or structure has entered a damaged state.

Related terms include rikkoutuminen, the noun form referring to the process of breakage, and rikkoutua, another related verb meaning to break in more general usage. Rikkoontuminen and rikkoutuminen are frequently used in reporting and documentation to describe damage or failure in Finnish.