Last update: September 11, 2023
If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or need for an arbitration, create a topic in the Style Guide section, the Language Lead will get back to you.
Here you will find the guidance for Finnish, but you should also consider the guidance for all languages.
1. Capitalization
- As a general rule, the beginning of sentences, proper names (people, businesses, products, features, places, etc.) should be capitalized.
- Only capitalize first letters unless source context explicitly suggests otherwise.
- Apply localized conventions rather than adhering to the English source.
- If there is only one sentence after a colon, it should start with a lower case letter while two or more sentences that belong to the group indicated by the colon should all start with a capital letter.
Huomioi: jotkin sivustot eivät välttämättä lataudu NetShieldin ollessa käytössä.
Tärkeää: Varmista, että tallennat palautuskoodisi. Muutoin saatat menettää pääsyn tilillesi pysyvästi, jos menetät todennuslaitteesi.
Capitalize
- First words of sentences, titles and subtitles
- Proper names
Proton, Mail, VPN, Drive, Pass
NetShield, Secure Core, Sentinel
Internet, Internet-sivusto
Keski-Eurooppa, Suomi, Helsinki - Proton plan names
Free, Plus, Unlimited, Proton for Business - UI elements (buttons, links, etc.), special folders and keywords (first word only)
Uusi viesti, Lähetä, Lataa, Yhdistä
Saapuneet, Lähtevät, Jaetut - When UI elements are separated by a slash, both are capitalized (replacing the slash may also be considered, without capitalization)
Tuo/Vie tiedosto
Tuo tai vie tiedosto
Do not capitalize
- Nationalities and languages (note that countries should be capitalized)
Olen suomenkielen kääntäjä, jonka äidinkieli on suomi. Olen syntyperäinen suomalainen ja asun Suomessa. - Individual titles and ranks (some foreign titles like Sir or Madame that are part of a persons name may be excluded)
tohtori, kenraali, tasavallan presidentti - Names of days, months and seasons (observe context and try to use capitalization if these appear by themselves, i.e. as individual, stand alone setting options)
perjantai, heinäkuu, kesä - Public holidays (unless they start with a name)
vappu, pääsiäinen, joulu
Runebergin päivä - Slang or common terms
netti, verkkosivusto (as opposed to Internet, Internet-sivusto)
2. Gender
- We want to be as inclusive as possible, so we try to be neutral, but we use gender-specific nouns and verbs if remaining neutral goes against the writing best practices for a specific language.
- Finnish pronouns are gender neutral.
- Many older terms are not gender neutral and especially masculine terms are very common.
- Translators are free to suggest alternative phrasings to be more inclusive.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| supervisor | esimies | esihenkilö |
3. Abbreviations
- Usually text should only be abbreviated when there are space constraints (mainly buttons, setting options and strings with specific character limitations).
- Abbreviations can sometimes ease readibility which is especially important with a language like Finnish that can often have long compound words that may be problematic especially on UI elements and smaller mobile screens.
- There may be sentences that become too long and may require heavy restructuring. In these situations, the necessity of the content must be weighed and less important words may be replaced with shorter alternatives or removed all together in favor of abbreviating.
General criteria for shortening words (only when necessary):
- Truncate a word so that it ends with a consonant and place a period after it.
- kahvikuppi kahvik.
- kahvinkeitin kahvink.
- kahvikuppi
Common abbreviations
Some common abbreviations and various translation examples that may fit to different scenarios.
| English | Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| etc. | jne./yms. tms. mm. |
ja muuta sellaista tai muuta sellaista muun muassa, kuten myös |
| approx. | n. | noin, suunnilleen, arviolta |
| e.g. | esim. | esimerkiksi, kuten |
| i.e. | ts. | toisin sanoen, kuten myös, eli |
Day abbreviations
Day names abbreviated without a period.
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | maanantain | ma |
| Tuesday | tiistai | ti |
| Wednesday | keskiviikko | ke |
| Thursday | torstai | to |
| Friday | perjantai | pe |
| Saturday | lauantai | la |
| Sunday | sunnuntai | su |
Month abbreviations
Month names are abbreviated without a period.
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| January | tammikuu | tammi |
| February | helmikuu | helmi |
| March | maaliskuu | maalis |
| April | huhtikuu | huhti |
| May | toukokuu | touko |
| June | kesäkuu | kesä |
| July | heinäkuu | heinä |
| August | elokuu | elo |
| September | syyskuu | syys |
| October | lokakuu | loka |
| November | marraskuu | marras |
| December | joulukuu | joulu |
4. Acronyms
- Common examples are VPN (Virtual Personal Network), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc.
- The most common acronyms and their translations are included in the glossary. Always refer to the glossary when localizing acronyms and if it doesn’t contain a translation, do your best to check other sources for an official translation.
- Commonly used acronyms do not need explanations (DVD, LED, TV, etc.).
- When an acronym is repeated several times in the same section, include its extended form in parentheses only for its first occurrence.
5. Pronouns
- English, especially technical English, is more redundant than some other languages.
- When translating technical and complex strings, ensure users can associate pronouns to the noun they refer to.
- Avoid the use of possessive pronouns when possible.
- Omit pronoun subjects such as “we” and “you”.
6. Gerunds (“ing” ending)
- Gerunds are used in English, for example “creating”, “sending”, “downloading”, etc. and their translations are very dependant on context.
- Finnish has several inflection variations with a few infnitives. What, who, to and from are important questions that may help with correct formation.
- Sentences can be reformed for different alternatives (multiple forms may be equal same contexts).
| English | Context | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Sending messages | Action or title | Viestien lähetys Viestien lähettäminen |
| Sending messages | Processing | Viestejä lähetetään Lähetetään viestejä |
| Importing messages from account A to B. |
Action or title | Tuodaan viestejä tililtä A tilille B. Viestien tuonti tililtä A tilille B. |
| Importing messages from account A to B. |
Processing | Viestejä tuodaan tililtä A tilille B. Tililtä A tuodaan viestejä tilille B. Tilin A viestejä tuodaan tilille B. |
7. Punctuation
7.1 Period
- As a general rule, plain text sentences always end with a period in Finnish (not including titles and some other UI elements). Most descriptions and many subtitles should end with a dot even they don’t in the English source.
- Note that some strings are parts of longer sentences that are constructed from multiple separate strings (this is often specified in the context but not always).
- Strings that contain multiple sentences can be combined by rephrasing and using commas.
- Include a period at the end of each extended sentence in a bullet list if this sentence has a full meaning by itself.
- Unless the item includes more than one sentence, do not place any periods at the end of titles, links, buttons, checkboxes and similar UI elements.
- When in doubt, follow the source. It is visually better to have no dot than to have one where it doesn’t belong (e.g. in a title or in the middle of a sentence).
7.2 Exclamation mark
- Exclamation marks are used to give emphasis.
- Their use is less common than in English and they should be used sparingly. Feel free to change an exclamation mark into a period if it is more natural but don’t change a period into an exclamation mark.
7.3 Parentheses
- Parentheses are used to clarify statements or provide additional information.
- They can often be removed/replaced by restructuring sentences which can sometimes allow more natural phrasing.
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Tell us about your experience. (Optional) | Kerro kokemuksestasi (valinnainen). Halutessasi voit kertoa kokemuksestasi. |
7.4 Comma
- Multiple separate sentences can be combined when the change makes the translation more natural.
- Do not place a comma before “and” and “or” when the conjunction is used to link related terms.
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| You can add, delete, and edit. | Voit lisätä, poistaa ja muokata. |
| Assign permissions to users, or groups. | Määritä käyttöoikeuksia käyttäjille tai ryhmille. |
| Storage limit reached. Unable to send or receive emails. | Tallennustilan raja on saavutettu, eikä viestien lähettäminen ja vastaanottaminen ole enää mahdollista. |
7.5 Colon and semicolon
- Colons and semicolons are followed by a space except when they are used when inflecting foreign words, numbers, abbreviations etc.
- A sentence that follows a colon can begin with a capital letter but this is required only if it is comprised of multiple sentences.
- A sentence that follows a semicolon should begin with a lowercase letter.
- Semicolons are rarely used and translators are free to replace them with with commas if it sounds more natural.
- Colons can also be removed by replacing them with a comma or otherwise reforming sentences (e.g. by inflecting words differently).
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Date: Old to new | Päiväys: vanhimmasta uusimpaan |
| The verification of X has failed: the contact is not signed correctly. | Viestin X vahvistus epäonnistui, koska yhteystietoa ei ole allekirjoitettu oikein. |
7.6 Em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-)
- In English, an Em or En dash is used to demarcate an isolated element, to introduce an item that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning, to emphasize a sudden change in thought or to bring focus to a list.
- It is often more appropriate to use a comma, a full stop or parenthesis instead so feel free to change this.
- En dash is also used for marking date and other numeric ranges and when doing so, they should not be surrounded by spaces.
- 23.4–7.5.1995, Finland–Sweden 4–1.
- Typing an en dash (–) with a keyboard:
- PC: Alt + numpad 0150
- Mac: Option⌥ + hyphen
- Typing an em dash (—) with a keyboard:
- PC: Alt + numpad 0151
- Mac: Shift + Option⌥ + hyphen
7.7 Quotation marks
- Use “these” quotation marks.
- Place a period outside the closing quotation mark unless quoting a whole sentence.
7.8 Apostrophes
- Use a straight apostrophe, '.
7.9 Ampersand (&)
- Replace “&” with “ja” unless it is part of a company/product name or a registered trademark.
8. Spacing and non-breaking spaces
- It is often recommended to use non-breaking spaces to prevent improper division of elements such as product names, part numbers, numbers, dates, etc.
- When using currency symbols or units of measurement, include a non-breaking space between number and currence character.
- Typing a non-breaking with a keyboard:
- PC: Alt + numpad 255
- Mac: Ctrl + Option⌥ + Space bar.
| English | Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | 30 % | 30[non-breaking space]% |
| 5€ | 5 € | 5[non-breaking space]€ |
| 1 GB | 1 Gt | 1[non-breaking space]Gt |
9. Numbers, time and date
- Replace the period that stands for the decimal point in American English with a comma in your translations.
3.75 3,75 - For numbers smaller than 1, always put a zero before the decimal comma.
.5 0,5 - Separate thousands with a space (preferrably a non-breaking one).
15,000 15 000 - Hours and minutes are separated by a period. Replace A.M. and P.M with their 24 equivalents unless context requires following the source format.
9:25 P.M. 21.25 - Date is presented as “dd.mm.yyyy” with no leading zeros.
01-31-2023 (mm/dd/yy) 31.1.2023
10. Ordinal numbers
- Ordinals are written as numbers followed by a period or if context allows as complete words.
1st 1. ensimmäinen
11. Currencies
- Do not convert currency amounts. Only change their presentation.
- Presentation: Numbers first, followed by a non-breaking space (preferrably) and the currency symbol like € and $.
Amount of €30 Summa 30 €
12. Units of measurement
- Use the metric system.
- There is no need to convert imperial units into metric units unless explicitly required.
- If available, localized unit abbreviations should be used. Otherwise follow the source or if space/context allows, write the localized unit name.
6 ft 6 jalkaa - Presentation: Numbers first, followed by a non-breaking space (preferrably) and then the unit abbreviation.
6 feet 6 jalkaa 6 ft
| Category | English | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMPUTING | byte kilobyte megabyte gigabyte terabyte kilobit megabit |
B kB MB GB TB Kbit Mbit |
tavu kilotavu megatavu gigatavu teratavu kilobitti megabitti |
t kt Mt Gt Tt Kbit Mbit |
| LINEAR | millimeter centimeter meter kilometer inch feet mile |
mm cm m km in ft mi |
millimetri senttimetri metri kilometri tuuma jalka maili |
mm cm m km in ft mi |
| VOLUME | milliliter liter gallon |
ml l gal |
millilitra litra gallona |
ml l gal |
| MASS | kilogram pound ton |
kg lb t |
kilogramma naula, pauna tonni |
kg lb t |
13. Street addresses
- Alter addresses only if they are meant for local presentation.
- City, country and other location names can be translated if an official translation exists.
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Proton AG Route de la Galaise 32 1228 Plan-les-Ouates Geneva, Switzerland |
Proton AG Route de la Galaise 32 1228 Plan-les-Ouates Geneve, Sveitsi |
14. English/US terms
Please
In English Please is used quite a lot and in UI contexts it often appears in instructional texts.
- Do not translate it. Plain imperatives are fine for directional messages.
- Requests can be freely reformed as long as the contextual message is retained.
- If there is a special reason to be extremely polite or delicate, we can form a sentence to end with “, kiitos”.
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Please try again later | Yritä myöhemmin uudelleen |
| Please explain why you are leaving to help us improve. | Kertoisitko miksi lähdet, jotta voimme jatkossa parantaa. Auta meitä parantamaan kertomalla miksi lähdet. |
| Could you please specify which streaming service? | Tarkentaisitko, mikä suoratoistopalvelu? Voisitko tarkentaa, mikä suoratoistopalvelu? Tarkentaisitko kyseessä olevan suoratoistopalvelun, kiitos? |
15. Foreign words
- The use of foreign (English) words instead of their localized equivalents depends on how widespread the use of the word is and what context it appears in. An English term might be a better option when its use has become very common.
- Some translateable features and other elements may be in English by design, and there can also be refereces to non-localized materials (e.g. references to 3rd party products or materials that are not localized).
- When official, localized terminology exists, it is preferred. However, direct translations are not and heavy use of anglicisms should be avoided.
- Foreign words, names and abbreviations are generally inflected just like regular Finnish words are. If natural inflection is not possible, the required suffix can be added after a colon.
Sign in to Proton VPN using your Proton credentials
Kirjaudu Proton VPN:ään Proton-tunnuksillasi.
Kirjaudu Proton VPN -palveluun Proton-tilisi tunnuksilla.". - To find out how common a word is, you can use internet search engines and also check out local websites that deal with similar subjects. If there is doubt about an important term, you can ask Proton’s Localization team to make a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check.
- Sanastokeskus ry maintains some useful glossaries that provide a lot of professional and technical terminology, in both Finnish and English.
16. Localizing person names
- Localize fictitious names used for explanatory purposes, choosing a name that is generic but not stereotypical.
Please enter your display name (e.g. Julia Smith)
Kirjoita näyttönimesi (esim. Mikko Möttönen) - Do not localize names of real people.
17. Localizing domains and email addresses
Localize fictitious domain names and e-mail addresses used for explanatory purposes:
- Translate the local-part of an e-mail address
user@ kayttaja@ or esimerkki@ - Translate example domains
example.com esimerkki.fi - Use your target country code at the end
.com .fi
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Proton Mail allows you to keep your business email address (you@yourcompany.com). | Proton Mail mahdollistaa yrityksesi sähköpostiosoitteen säilyttämisen (nimi@yrityksesi.fi) |
| Configure an address that receives all email sent to addresses with your domain that do not exist (e.g. mistake@yourdomain.com). | Määritä osoite, jolla vastaanotetaan kaikki olemattomiin verkkotunnuksesi osoitteisiin lähetetyt viestit (e.g. virheellinen@verkkotunnuksesi.fi). |
However, do not localize any real email addresses or domain names.
To reset your mailbox password, please use the web version of Proton Mail at proton.me
Nollaa postilaatikkosi salasana Proton Mailin verkkoversiossa, osoitteessa proton.me.