Microsoft Finnish Style Guide

The Microsoft Finnish Style Guide (Suomen kieliopas) is the official reference for writing clear, consistent, and culturally appropriate content in Finnish for Microsoft products, services, and documentation. It aligns with Microsofts broader Style Guide while addressing the unique grammatical, typographic, and usage conventions of the Finnish language.

Why a Dedicated Finnish Guide?

Finnish is a highly inflected language with 15 cases, vowel harmony, and a strong preference for native terms over loanwords. These linguistic features demand specific guidance to avoid ambiguous or unnatural translations. The guide helps writers:

• Maintain technical accuracy while respecting Finnish syntax.
• Choose terminology that matches user expectations in the Finnish market.
• Apply consistent capitalization, punctuation, and formatting rules.
• Ensure accessibility for both native speakers and learners.

Core Principles

1. Clarity first. Use simple sentences, avoid unnecessary jargon, and keep the users task in focus.
2. Consistency. Follow the established terminology and style patterns throughout all content.
3. Localizationaware. Respect cultural conventions, measurement units, datetime formats, and legal requirements specific to Finland.
4. Inclusive language. Prefer genderneutral phrasing and avoid stereotypes.
5. Accessibility. Write with screenreaders and other assistive technologies in mind.

Grammar & Syntax Highlights

Case usage

Finnish cases express relationships that English does with prepositions. The guide emphasizes:

• Nominative for subjects tiedosto on avattu.
• Accusative for direct objects Avaa tiedoston.
• Partitive for indefinite objects or ongoing actions Kirjoita teksti.
• Inessive for location inside Aseta tiedosto kansioon.
• Adessive for location on/at Tarkastele sovellusta.
• and the remaining cases are addressed where relevant (e.g., elative, ablative, allative).

Verb forms

Use the secondperson imperative for UI commands: Poista (Delete), Tallenna (Save). The infinitive form appears in help topics: Kopioi tiedosto. Avoid overly formal infinitives that read like legal text.

Word order

Finnish typically follows a verbfirst order in instructions: Avaa tiedosto. In explanatory sentences the subject can be omitted if it is clear from context: Tm valikko nytt asetukset. The guide warns against literal English word order that can cause confusion.

Terminology Management

Microsoft maintains a Finnish terminology portal. Key recommendations include:

• Prefertiedosto over file, kyttj over user, asetus over setting.
• When a widelyused loanword exists (e.g., blogi, login), keep it if it is standard in the Finnish tech community.
• Capitalize only proper nouns and product names; UI labels are usually sentencecase (Avaa tiedosto).
• Use the official Finnish Microsoft brand namese.g., Microsoft Teams, PowerBIexactly as provided.

Punctuation & Typography

Finnish punctuation differs slightly from English:

• Use a nonbreaking space before punctuation marks such as ?, !, and : when they follow a short expression.
• Ellipsis is written as three separate dots with a space before the first dot: .
• Quotation marks are usually (double curly) for direct speech and for quotes within quotes.
• The dash for ranges is an endash () with no spaces, e.g., 1012kpl.

Numbers, Dates & Units

Follow the Finnish conventions:

• Decimal separator is a comma, thousand separator is a space: 1234,56.
• Use the daymonthyear order: 31.12.2025 (or 31lokua2025 in written text).
• Metric system is mandatory: kilometres (km), megabitti (MB), gigahertsi (GHz).
• Time is expressed in 24hour notation: 14:30.

Common Pitfalls

Below are frequent errors and how the guide advises to correct them.

1. Direct translation of English idioms

English: Press the button to get started.Bad Finnish: Paina nappia pstksesi alkuun.Correct: Aloita painamalla painiketta.

2. Overuse of English loanwords

Bad: Valitse Settings-valikko.Correct: Valitse Asetuksetvalikko.

3. Misplaced case endings

Bad: Klickaa tst linkki.Correct: Klikkaa tst linkist.

Accessibility Considerations

In addition to linguistic accuracy, the guide aligns with WCAG 2.2. Important points include:

• Provide alt text for images in Finnish using concise, descriptive language.
• Avoid using coloronly indicators; pair with text (Punainen: virhe).
• Maintain a clear reading level aim for a Finnish ylin 9luokka (approximately 15yearold) readability.

Resources & Further Reading

• Microsoft Finnish Style Guide (official page)
• Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) authoritative grammar and spelling rules.
• Microsoft Global Style Guide for crosslanguage consistency.
• Finnish language forums such as Kielikello for communitydriven terminology discussions.

By adhering to these guidelines, writers and translators can produce Finnish content that feels native, respects user expectations, and upholds Microsofts standards for quality and inclusivity.