oikeinkirjoitus

Oikeinkirjoitus is the set of conventions that govern correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and related aspects of written Finnish. It defines how words are formed and written in standard Finnish, including how foreign loanwords are adapted and how proper names are treated. The rules cover the Finnish alphabet, diacritics such as ä and ö (and loanword variants), and the basic typographic norms used in everyday writing.

In Finland, normative orthography is maintained by Kotimaisten kielten keskus (Kotus), the Finnish Language Institute. Kotus publishes official guidelines and reference works, most notably materials on Nyky-Suomen oikeinkirjoitus (orthography of modern Finnish). These resources inform educators, editors, publishers, and digital tools, and they are widely used in schools, media, and government communications to ensure consistency across written Finnish.

Key aspects of oikeinkirjoitus include the Finnish alphabet, the use of diacritics, rules for capitalization of proper nouns, and punctuation practices. It also covers hyphenation and the boundary between words in compounds (yhdyssanat) and their appropriate separation in writing and line breaks. The system reflects Finnish phonology and morphology, balancing readability with precision. While most everyday writing follows the standard rules, exceptions occur in proper names, brand spellings, dialectal forms, and certain loanwords, which may be treated differently in certain contexts or official documents.

Oikeinkirjoitus serves as the foundation for language teaching, spell-checking, publishing, and language technology in Finnish, ensuring clarity and consistency in written communication.