Viivistä

Viivistä is a Finnish inflected form that is not part of standard Finnish usage for the plural elative of viiva (line). In contemporary Finnish, the correct elative plural is viivoista (from the lines). Viivistä may appear as a nonstandard variant in dialects, older texts, or as a common orthographic error when writers confuse the elative suffixes stemming from viiva.

In standard Finnish grammar, viiva is a masculine noun with plural forms such as viivat (nominative plural) and viivoista (elative plural). The form viivistä can be encountered mainly as a misspelling or in dialectal writing, rather than as an accepted form in modern language usage. Because Finnish case endings interact with vowel harmony and stem changes, some learners may incorrectly generalize suffixes to fit familiar patterns; however, viivistä is not the prescribed form for the elative plural of viiva.

When discussing lines in maps, graphs, typography, or design, speakers and writers should use viivoista for “from the lines” or “of the lines.” If viivistä appears, it is advisable to revise the text to viivoista to conform to standard Finnish grammar. The distinction highlights how Finnish inflection relies on precise suffix choices to indicate number and case.

See also: viiva, viivat, viivoista, Finnish grammar, elative case.