Puhelin on sängyllä, mutta se on äänettömällä.

Finnish often expresses location with a case ending instead of a separate preposition.

• sänky = bed
• sängyllä = on the bed

The ending -llä / -llä is called the adessive case, and one of its common meanings is on or at.

So:

• Puhelin on sängyllä = The phone is on the bed.

English uses on + the bed, but Finnish builds that meaning into the noun itself.

This is because of consonant gradation, a common Finnish sound change.

The basic word is:

• sänky = bed

When certain endings are added, the k changes:

• sänky → sängy- → sängyllä

So the form is not completely predictable from English, but it is a normal Finnish pattern. Learners usually just memorize the case forms as they encounter them.

on is the 3rd person singular form of the verb olla, which means to be.

So:

• Puhelin on sängyllä = The phone is on the bed
• se on äänettömällä = it is on silent

This same form on is used for:

• he is
• she is
• it is

Finnish does not have different verb forms for he/she/it is in the singular.

se is the normal Finnish word for it.

In everyday spoken and written Finnish, se is also very often used for he or she, depending on context. In this sentence, though, it clearly refers to puhelin (phone), so it means it.

So:

• puhelin = phone
• se = it

The second clause avoids repeating puhelin, just like English often does.

Because Finnish treats being on silent mode as being in/on a state or setting, and that state is often expressed with the adessive case.

• äänetön = silent / soundless
• äänettömällä = on silent / in silent mode

So:

• Se on äänettömällä literally means something like It is on the silent setting.

This is a very natural Finnish expression for devices like phones.

Because the adessive case has several related uses.

Common meanings of -lla / -llä include:

• on a surface: sängyllä = on the bed
• at a place: asemalla = at the station
• using / by means of: junalla = by train
• in a state / setting / mode: äänettömällä = on silent

So the same case ending can cover different ideas that English expresses in different ways.

mutta means but.

It connects the two clauses:

• Puhelin on sängyllä = The phone is on the bed
• mutta = but
• se on äänettömällä = it is on silent

This is the normal position, just like in English:

• The phone is on the bed, but it is on silent.

Normally, no. Finnish usually needs the subject to be stated.

So:

• Puhelin on sängyllä, mutta se on äänettömällä. = natural
• Leaving out se would sound incomplete in standard Finnish.

Finnish does sometimes omit subjects in certain situations, especially in spoken language, but here se is expected.

Not exactly. It is better understood as on silent mode rather than just silent as a general adjective.

For example:

• äänetön huone = a silent room
• puhelin on äänettömällä = the phone is on silent

So in this sentence, äänettömällä refers to the phone’s setting, not just a descriptive quality.

Because this is a simple, neutral Finnish sentence, and Finnish often uses a basic word order similar to English:

• Puhelin = subject
• on = verb
• sängyllä = location

Then:

• mutta = conjunction
• se = subject
• on = verb
• äänettömällä = state/mode

So the structure is very straightforward:

• The phone is on the bed, but it is on silent.

Finnish word order can be more flexible than English, but this is the most neutral version.

Yes. That also means The phone is on the bed.

There is a slight difference in feel:

• sängyllä = on the bed
• sängyn päällä = on top of the bed / on the surface of the bed

Often sängyllä is enough and sounds natural.
sängyn päällä can feel a bit more explicit about physical position on top of the surface.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• ää-net-tö-mäl-lä

A few things to notice:

• ää is a long vowel
• tt is a long consonant
• ö is like the vowel in German schön or French peu, if you know those
• llä has a doubled l, so hold the l slightly longer

Finnish pronunciation is usually very regular, and each written sound is pronounced clearly.

Here are the dictionary forms:

• puhelin = phone
• olla = to be
• sänky = bed
• mutta = but
• se = it
• äänetön = silent, soundless

And here are the sentence forms:

• Puhelin
• on
• sängyllä
• mutta
• se
• on
• äänettömällä

This is useful because Finnish often changes noun and adjective forms a lot depending on case.