Sisennys

Sisennys is a typographic term in Finnish that refers to indentation, the visual offset of a line or block of text from the left margin. It is used to indicate the start of a new paragraph, to structure text, or to format quotations and lists. In printed and digital text, sisennys can take several forms: a first-line indent, a hanging indent, or a block indentation where the entire paragraph is offset.

Etymology: The word derives from Finnish verb forms related to placing inward and is the standard term in Finnish style guides, word processors, and typesetting for describing indentation.

In computing and programming, sisennys is the term for indentation used to reflect code structure. Indentation levels show nesting, and consistent sisennys improves readability and can be required by languages with indentation-based syntax.

Guidelines for sisennys vary by language and medium. Typical first-line indents in printed text range from about 0.4 to 0.8 centimeters, while in source code spaces or tabs are used to represent nesting levels; the choice depends on style guides and software.

See also: indentation, typography, code indentation, style guide.