päämuodon

Päämuoto, often referred to in linguistic and lexicographic contexts as the lemma or base form, is the form of a word that is treated as the canonical citation form. It serves as the entry form in dictionaries and as the reference point for analyzing inflected variants. The concept helps organize vocabulary so that all inflections of a word can be linked to a single, stable form.

In Finnish, the choice of päämuoto follows conventional rules tied to word class. For nouns, the päämuoto is typically the nominative singular form (for example, talo meaning house). Adjectives have their päämuoto in the positive/base form (iso meaning big). Verbs are usually listed by the infinitive form (kirjoittaa meaning to write). Numerals and certain invariable words may also be listed with a single base form. Proper nouns are usually presented in their basic form as established in usage, rather than altered to fit grammar.

The päämuoto is central to lemmatization and morphosyntactic analysis in natural language processing and corpus linguistics. By mapping inflected or derived forms to their päämuoto, researchers and applications can group related word forms under one entry, enabling consistent counting, searching, and linguistic comparison. This process helps manage vocabulary across dialects, historical texts, and varied genres.

Synonyms and related terms include perusmuoto, which is commonly used interchangeably with päämuoto in many Finnish sources. While nuances may differ among references, the underlying idea remains: the päämuoto is the standardized form used as the reference point for a word’s inflected forms.