oikeinkirjoitettu

The word oikeinkirjoitettu is a Finnish adjective meaning “spelled correctly” or “orthographically correct.” It is formed from the base noun oikeinkirjoitus, which means “orthography” or “spelling,” combined with the past participle suffix –tettu. The term is used to describe words, phrases, or texts that conform to the standard rules of Finnish spelling.

In Finnish orthography, the correct spelling of a word must adhere to a set of phonological and alphabetic conventions, including consonant gradation, vowel harmony, and the use of digraphs such as kk, ll, and ss. Oikeinkirjoitettu is often applied in educational contexts, language tests, and literary criticism to assess whether a piece of writing follows these conventions. For example, a teacher might say that a student’s essay is oikeinkirjoitettu and thus meets the spelling standards required for a certain grade level.

The concept is centered on the prescriptive grammar tradition, where a single, accepted spelling is considered normative. In informally written Finnish, however, various dialectal spellings sometimes appear, and such variations are typically not labeled oikeinkirjoitettu. Nonetheless, the phrase remains the standard descriptor for texts that strictly observe the official orthographic guidelines set forth by the Language Council of Finland.