Learn Hardcore Finnish: Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa, ja mieli rauhoittuu varsinkin illalla. - Rest calms the body, and the mind calms down especially in the evening.

rauhoittaa = to calm (something)
- This is transitive: it takes an object.
- In the sentence: Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa → Rest calms the body.
  - lepo = subject
  - rauhoittaa = verb
  - kehoa = object
rauhoittua = to calm down, to become calm
- This is intransitive: it does not take an object.
- In the sentence: mieli rauhoittuu → the mind calms down / becomes calm.

So the first clause describes something causing calmness (rest calms the body), and the second clause describes something becoming calm by itself (the mind calms down).

Why is kehoa in the partitive case instead of kehon?

Kehoa is the partitive singular of keho (body). Finnish uses the partitive object here mainly because:

The sentence describes a general, ongoing effect, not a single complete event:
- Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa = Rest calms the body (in general / to some extent).
With many verbs of feeling, change of state, or “affecting” something, the partitive is common when:
- the effect is partial or gradual, or
- the statement is generic, not about one specific completed event.

You could see kehon in some contexts, but it would sound more like:

a total, completed result (“rest calms the whole body completely”) or a very specific event.

In this neutral, general statement, kehoa is the natural and idiomatic choice.

Why is mieli in the nominative but kehoa is in the partitive?

Because they have different grammatical roles:

mieli (mind) is the subject of the second clause:
- mieli rauhoittuu → the mind calms down
- Subjects normally appear in the nominative case.
kehoa (body) is the object of the verb rauhoittaa in the first clause:
- Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa → Rest calms the body.
- Objects often appear in the partitive (as explained above), depending on the meaning.

So:

mieli = who/what is doing or undergoing the action → nominative
kehoa = what is being affected by the action of another → partitive object

Why is there a comma before ja in Finnish here?

In Finnish, you do put a comma before ja when it connects two independent clauses, each with its own personal subject:

Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa,
ja mieli rauhoittuu varsinkin illalla.

Clause 1:

subject: lepo
verb: rauhoittaa

Clause 2:

subject: mieli
verb: rauhoittuu

Because both sides of ja could stand as full sentences on their own, Finnish punctuation rules require the comma. This is different from English, where a comma before “and” is optional or often omitted in such a simple sentence.

What nuance does varsinkin add, and how is it different from erityisesti?

varsinkin means roughly “especially / in particular”. In this sentence:

mieli rauhoittuu varsinkin illalla
→ the mind calms down especially in the evening.

Nuance:

varsinkin:
- very common in speech and neutral writing
- emphasizes “among all possible times, this one in particular”
erityisesti:
- also means especially, particularly
- often a bit more formal or “careful” in tone, but still common and correct here:
  - mieli rauhoittuu erityisesti illalla is fine.

In everyday language, varsinkin fits very naturally and sounds slightly more colloquial than erityisesti, but the meaning here is almost the same.

Why is it illalla and not illassa or just ilta?

illalla is the adessive case of ilta (evening), and in time expressions the adessive often corresponds to “in/at [time]”:

ilta = evening (basic form)
illalla = in the evening / at evening time

You don’t say illassa for this meaning. The inessive -ssa (in) is not normally used with times of day like this.

So:

illalla = in the evening (general time adverbial)
aamulla = in the morning
päivällä = in the daytime
yöllä = at night

Using just ilta would not work alone as a time adverbial; you need the case ending: illalla.

Can the word order varsinkin illalla be changed to illalla varsinkin? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say both:

mieli rauhoittuu varsinkin illalla
mieli rauhoittuu illalla varsinkin

Both are grammatically correct and mean essentially the same: the mind calms down especially in the evening.

Nuance:

varsinkin illalla (more common):
- slightly more neutral
- smoothly highlights the evening as the special time
illalla varsinkin:
- puts illalla first, which can give a little extra emphasis to “in the evening” as the main time frame, with varsinkin reinforcing it.

In normal speech and writing, varsinkin illalla is the more typical order.

Could I combine body and mind into one object and say Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa ja mieltä? How would that differ?

Yes, that is possible and correct:

Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa ja mieltä.
→ Rest calms the body and the mind.

Differences:

Structure
- Original: two separate clauses, two different verbs:
  - rauhoittaa (transitive, affects kehoa)
  - rauhoittuu (intransitive, mieli calms itself)
- New version: one clause, one verb (rauhoittaa) affecting two objects (kehoa ja mieltä).
Nuance
- Original:
  - Feels a bit more balanced and stylistic: body is calmed by rest, mind (somewhat separately) calms down, especially in the evening.
- New version:
  - States more directly: rest calms both body and mind, without highlighting the mind’s special tendency to calm in the evening (unless you add that detail separately).

So your alternative is correct, but the meaning and focus are slightly less detailed.

Is lepo always a noun? What is the verb form “to rest” in Finnish?

Yes, lepo is a noun meaning rest.

The related verb is levätä = to rest.

Examples:

Tarvitsen lepoa. → I need rest. (noun, partitive lepoa)
Haluan levätä. → I want to rest. (verb levätä)
Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa. → Rest calms the body. (noun lepo as subject)

So in the sentence you gave, lepo is not a verb; it is a noun acting as the subject.

Why are the verbs in the present tense? Is this a general statement?

Yes. The Finnish present tense is used both for:

actions happening now, and
general truths or habitual facts, similar to the English simple present.

In this sentence:

Lepo rauhoittaa kehoa
mieli rauhoittuu varsinkin illalla

the present tense expresses a general, timeless fact:
Rest calms the body, and the mind tends to calm down especially in the evening.

It doesn’t refer to just one specific evening, but to a general tendency.

How should I pronounce rauhoittaa and rauhoittuu?

Key points:

rau-: ra
- diphthong au → like “row” but with a clear “a-u” glide: [raʊ].
h is pronounced, so rauho- has a slight breathy h in the middle: rau-ho.
-ittaa / -ittuu:
- tt is a long /t/: hold the sound a bit longer than in English.
- aa and uu are long vowels, held longer than a short vowel.

Very roughly:

rauhoittaa ≈ RAU-hoit-taah
rauhoittuu ≈ RAU-hoit-tuu

Stress is on the first syllable in both: RAU-hoit-taa, RAU-hoit-tuu.