Questions & Answers about Onko tämä leipä gluteeniton?
How exactly does the word gluteeniton mean "gluten-free"?
It uses the suffix -ton, which means "without" or "-less". You take the noun gluteeni (gluten) and add -ton to the end, creating an adjective that means "without gluten" or "gluten-free".
Why does the suffix use -ton instead of -tön here?
Because of vowel harmony! The root word gluteeni contains the back vowel u. Even though it also has e and i, those are neutral vowels. Because there is a back vowel in the root, the suffix must also use a back vowel, making it -ton.
Is gluteeni just the English word "gluten" with an i at the end?
Basically, yes! Many international words are adapted into Finnish simply by adding an i to the end. Since traditional Finnish words usually end in a vowel, this is a very common way to make foreign words fit the language naturally.
Just to double check, why is the first word Onko and not just On?
In Finnish, you form a yes/no question by taking the main verb, adding the question particle -ko or -kö, and moving it to the very front of the sentence. So the word on (is) becomes onko (is it?).