Learn Hardcore Finnish: Vastaan: "Kyllä, asia on minulle selvä nyt." - I answer: “Yes, the matter is clear to me now.”

vastata = to answer, to reply; to be responsible; to correspond; to oppose (depending on context)
vastaan = I answer / I am answering / I will answer

Finnish present tense is used for:

English present simple (I answer),
present continuous (I am answering),
and often near future (I’ll answer / I reply).

Here, with the colon introducing direct speech, Vastaan: means I answer / I reply:.

Why is there a colon after Vastaan?

The colon in Finnish is commonly used to introduce direct speech, just like in English.

So the structure is:

Vastaan: = I answer:
Kyllä, asia on minulle selvä nyt. = the direct quote of what you say.

This is similar to English I reply: Yes, the matter is clear to me now.

Why is Kyllä used, and how is it different from joo or niin?

Kyllä is a neutral, somewhat more formal or emphatic way to say yes.

Rough differences:

kyllä – neutral, works both in spoken and written language; can sound slightly formal or emphatic.
joo – very common, informal spoken yeah / yes.
niin – literally so / in that way / indeed; in some contexts it works like yes, especially when agreeing with what was just said (e.g. answering a tag question).

In a written sentence like this, especially in a “quoted reply” after Vastaan, Kyllä feels natural and slightly more formal than Joo.

What exactly does asia mean here?

Asia is a very common noun that roughly means:

matter, issue, thing, affair, business, case.

In this sentence asia refers to the thing / issue we have been talking about.

Finnish doesn’t use articles (a, the), so asia can be translated as:

the matter (most natural here),
or this matter / this thing, depending on context.

If the context is obvious, you could also say Se on minulle selvä nyt (It is clear to me now), but asia explicitly refers to that matter.

What is the structure asia on minulle selvä? Why minulle instead of minua or minä?

The structure is:

asia – subject (the matter)
on – 3rd person singular of olla (to be)
minulle – allative case of minä (to/for me)
selvä – adjective (clear)

Literally: The matter is clear to me.

Minulle is the allative form of minä:

minä = I (nominative)
minua = me (partitive)
minulle = to/for me (allative)

With adjectives like selvä (clear), Finnish often uses this allative + adjective pattern to express clear to someone, obvious to someone, difficult for someone, etc.:

Asia on minulle selvä. – The matter is clear to me.
Se on minulle vaikea. – It is difficult for me.
Tämä on sinulle tärkeä. – This is important for you.

So minulle here is not a direct object; it’s more like a “to me / for me” phrase that the adjective relates to.

What case is minulle, and what is the basic idea of that case?

Minulle is in the allative case.

The allative (ending -lle) often expresses:

to a person or place,
onto a surface,
or more abstractly for someone.

Examples:

Anna kirja minulle. – Give the book to me.
Pöydälle. – Onto the table.
Se on minulle tärkeä. – It is important to me.

In asia on minulle selvä, the idea is the matter is clear *to me → *minulle.

Can the word order be different, like Asia on nyt minulle selvä or Nyt asia on minulle selvä?

Yes, Finnish allows fairly flexible word order, and those versions are all grammatical. Each order slightly shifts the emphasis:

Asia on minulle selvä nyt.
Neutral; slight emphasis at the end on nyt (now).
Asia on nyt minulle selvä.
Emphasizes that now (as opposed to earlier) it’s clear. Very natural.
Nyt asia on minulle selvä.
Stronger emphasis on nyt at the beginning: Now, the matter is clear to me. Often used when contrasting with the past (Before it wasn’t, but now it is).
Asia on minulle nyt selvä.
Also possible; perhaps a bit more spoken-like, focus still on nyt.

All are understandable; the original is just one natural option.

Would Asia on selvä minulle nyt also be correct?

It is grammatically understandable, but it sounds less natural than asia on minulle selvä nyt or asia on nyt minulle selvä.

Native speakers usually prefer:

pronouns like minulle earlier in the phrase, and
the adjective (selvä) closer to the noun (asia) it describes.

So:

more natural: Asia on minulle selvä nyt.
less natural: Asia on selvä minulle nyt. (still understandable)

What does selvä mean here, and does it have other meanings?

Here selvä means clear / understood.

Common meanings of selvä:

clear, obvious, evident
- Asia on selvä. – The matter is clear.
sober (not drunk)
- Olen selvä. – I’m sober.
OK / agreed (in responses)
- Selvä! – OK! / Got it!

In asia on minulle selvä nyt, it clearly has the meaning understood / clear.

Why is there no word for “the” in asia? Why not something like “the matter”?

Finnish has no articles (no a, an, the). Whether a noun is definite (the matter) or indefinite (a matter) is inferred from context.

So:

asia can mean a matter or the matter,
kirja can mean a book or the book, etc.

In this context, because a specific issue is being talked about, asia naturally translates as the matter.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

Overall it’s neutral, slightly leaning towards formal because of:

Kyllä instead of Joo,
the full sentence asia on minulle selvä nyt instead of a short Selvä nyt or Ymmärrän nyt.

It would fit well in emails, written answers, or semi-formal conversations. In very casual speech, you might hear something shorter, like:

Joo, nyt se on mulle selvä.
(colloquial: joo, se, mulle)

Could I say Vastaan: Kyllä, ymmärrän nyt. instead? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could. It would be:

Vastaan: Kyllä, ymmärrän nyt.
= I answer: Yes, I understand now.

Difference:

asia on minulle selvä nyt focuses on the matter being clear to you.
ymmärrän nyt focuses on you understanding.

In most contexts they’re very close in meaning; the original is slightly more formal and more “object-focused” (the matter is clear).