Minä syön leipää kuin lapsi.

I eat bread like a child.

Breakdown of Minä syön leipää kuin lapsi.

• minä: I
• syödä: to eat
• lapsi: the child
• leipä: the bread
• kuin: like

Questions & Answers about Minä syön leipää kuin lapsi.

Why is leipää in the partitive case and not the nominative leipä?

In Finnish, when you eat an unspecified amount of something (bread being an uncountable noun), you use the partitive to show partial or ongoing action. Leipää tells us “some bread” rather than “the whole loaf.” Using the nominative leipä would imply you eat an entire, specific loaf from start to finish, which is rare in everyday speech.

Could you ever use the nominative leipä here?

Grammatically you could say syön leipä, but it sounds odd except in special contexts (e.g. “I eat that one exact loaf”). Most native speakers stick with the partitive because we almost always eat “some bread,” not an entire loaf in one go.

Why is there no article (a/an/the) before leipää?

Finnish doesn’t have articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are conveyed through context and case endings (like the partitive). Here leipää automatically means “(some) bread.”

What does kuin mean, and is it the only way to say “like” or “as”?

Kuin is the basic word for “like” or “as” in comparisons. You can optionally add niin before it (niin kuin) for extra emphasis—niin kuin literally “so as” but often just “just like.”

Why is lapsi in the nominative case after kuin and not partitive or another case?

In a comparison introduced by kuin, the noun following it takes the case it would have in its own clause. Here lapsi is the subject of the implied verb “eats,” so it stays in the nominative.

Can we omit minä in Minä syön leipää kuin lapsi?

Yes. Finnish verbs are marked for person, so the subject pronoun minä (“I”) is optional. You’d still say Syön leipää kuin lapsi, and it remains perfectly clear. Including minä adds emphasis or contrast.

Is the word order fixed as Minä syön leipää kuin lapsi, or can we move things around?

Finnish word order is quite flexible. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object–Comparison. You could front another element for focus:
• Leipää syön minä kuin lapsi (“It’s bread that I eat like a child,” emphasizing bread)
• Kuin lapsi minä syön leipää (awkward but possible for poetic effect).
Generally, stick to S-V-O for everyday clarity.

How would I make the comparison stronger or more colloquial?

Add niin before kuin:
Minä syön leipää niin kuin lapsi.
That gives a bit more punch: “I eat bread just like a child.”