Word
Kynttilä palaa hiljaa, kun perhe syö iltapalaa.
Meaning
The candle burns quietly when the family eats an evening snack.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Kynttilä palaa hiljaa, kun perhe syö iltapalaa.
syödä
to eat
kun
when
palaa
to burn
perhe
the family
Questions & Answers about Kynttilä palaa hiljaa, kun perhe syö iltapalaa.
Why is palaa used instead of polttaa for “burns”?
Finnish distinguishes between intransitive and transitive “burn”:
- palaa = to burn / to be on fire (something burns by itself)
- Kynttilä palaa. = The candle is burning.
- polttaa = to burn something (you cause something to burn)
- Poltan kynttilää. = I am burning a candle.
In your sentence, the candle is just burning by itself, so the correct verb is palaa, not polttaa.
What exactly does hiljaa mean here, and why not hiljaisesti?
Hiljaa is an adverb meaning quietly / softly / silently. It describes how the candle is burning.
- Kynttilä palaa hiljaa.
→ The candle burns quietly/softly.
You can also say hiljaisesti, but:
- hiljaa is more common and natural in everyday language in expressions like this.
- hiljaisesti can sound a bit more formal or literary, or sometimes slightly more “careful” or “deliberate”.
Both are grammatically correct, but hiljaa is the default choice here.
Why is there a comma before ? In English we often skip commas with “when”.