yhdysviivan

Yhdysviiva is the Finnish word for hyphen. It is a punctuation mark used to connect words or parts of words. In Finnish, it serves several grammatical functions. One common use is to join compound words, especially when the first word ends in a vowel and the second begins with a vowel, or when clarity is improved. For example, "talonmies" (caretaker) is a compound word, but sometimes a yhdysviiva might be used for emphasis or in specific contexts, though it is less common in standard compound words.

Another significant role of the yhdysviiva is in indicating ranges or connections between numbers or concepts, similar to its use in English. For instance, it can be used in dates or time periods, such as "2023–2024" or "klo 9–17" (from 9 to 17 o'clock). It can also connect words in a series where a full stop or comma would be too strong, or to indicate a relationship between two entities.

The yhdysviiva is also employed in word division at the end of a line when a word cannot be fully written. This is a stylistic choice to maintain readability. While it shares many functions with the English hyphen, the specific rules and frequency of its use are dictated by Finnish grammar and orthography.