Minun puhelimeni on äänetön.

My phone is on silent.

Breakdown of Minun puhelimeni on äänetön.

• olla: to be
• minun: my
• puhelin: the phone
• äänetön: silent

Questions & Answers about Minun puhelimeni on äänetön.

Why is it “Minun puhelimeni” instead of “Minun puhelimen”?

In Finnish, the possessive suffix -ni is often used to indicate "my." Attaching -ni to puhelin (phone) gives puhelimeni, literally "my phone." Because of this suffix, the genitive form puhelimen isn’t needed. If you dropped -ni, you would say minun puhelimen, but that’s less common.

What does the suffix -ni in “puhelimeni” actually represent?

The suffix -ni is a first-person singular possessive marker. It attaches to a noun to show that the noun belongs to the speaker. For example:

• puhelimeni = my phone
• kirjani = my book

Is “Minun puhelimeni” different from just saying “Puhelimeni”?

Semantically, both mean "my phone." Minun puhelimeni is more explicit, because minun (my) is stated in addition to the possessive suffix. In everyday speech, you’ll often see just puhelimeni, because the suffix -ni already conveys "my."

What does “äänetön” mean, and how does it compare to “hiljainen”?

Äänetön literally means "soundless" or "silent" (e.g., in silent mode), while hiljainen means "quiet" or "soft" in volume. Saying Puhelimeni on äänetön specifically suggests the phone is on silent mode or making no sound at all, whereas Puhelimeni on hiljainen would imply it’s quiet, but not necessarily fully muted.

Why do we use “on” in this sentence?

In Finnish, on is the third-person singular form of the verb "olla" (to be). Regardless of the subject being in the first person singular, the sentence structure of "X on Y" (X is Y) uses on for all persons except the plural "olemme" and "olette" forms. So, (Minun) puhelimeni on äänetön translates neatly to "My phone is silent."