Viiteviiva

Viiteviiva is a term found in Finnish language usage that refers to a line used as a separator in written text. In practice, the concept commonly corresponds to punctuation marks such as a hyphen or a dash, which connect or separate elements within a word or phrase. The exact label viiteviiva is not standard across Finnish typography, and more common terms are hyphen (tavuviiva) and various kinds of dashes.

In usage, a hyphen-like viiva is traditionally employed to join parts of compound words or to indicate word breaks at line endings. Different dash forms serve different functions, such as signaling ranges, connections between related items, or a break in thought; however, in many contexts the generic term viiva may be used when referring to any such line, with more specific terms preferred in technical style guides.

The term viiteviiva can appear in specialized or informal texts, and may be used to describe a separator character in user interfaces, data formats, or typographic discussions. Because Finnish punctuation has several distinct marks with specific rules, readers should consult a particular style guide for precise usage in a given context. In everyday Finnish writing, the more common terms tavuviiva (hyphen) and viiva (dash) are typically used to describe these punctuation marks rather than the umbrella term viiteviiva.

See also: Finnish punctuation, Hyphen, Dash, Typography, Style guides.