Learn Hardcore Finnish: Illalla puen pyjaman päälle ja luen kirjaa sängyssä. - In the evening I put on my pyjamas and read a book in bed.

It comes from the noun ilta (evening) + the ending -lla, which here works like “in/at (a time)”.
Formally, illalla is the adessive case of ilta, but with time expressions it’s usually translated as “in the X” or “at X” rather than “on X”.

So:

ilta = evening
illalla = in the evening / at night (evening time)

You don’t say illassa here, because -ssa (inessive “in”) isn’t used for this particular time expression. Finnish just happens to use -lla with many time-of-day words:

aamulla – in the morning
päivällä – in the daytime
illalla – in the evening
yöllä – at night

Why is it puen pyjaman päälle instead of just using one word like “I dress” or “I put on pyjamas”?

Finnish likes using a verb + a postposition to express “put on (clothes)”.

The basic verb is pukea = to dress (someone/something), to put clothes on.
When you say pukea X päälle, it literally means “to put X on (onto oneself)”.

So:

puen = I put on / I dress
pyjaman = the pyjamas (object)
päälle = onto (on top)

Puen pyjaman päälle is literally something like:
“I put the pyjamas onto (myself).”

English expresses this as a single verb (“put on”), but Finnish builds it with pukea + päälle.

Why is it pyjaman with -n at the end instead of just pyjama?

Pyjaman is in the genitive/accusative form, and here it’s functioning as the object of the verb puen.

In Finnish, the object of a verb can appear in different cases depending on things like completeness and sentence type. With a completed action in a normal affirmative sentence, a singular object often appears in the genitive (which looks like “-n”):

Puen pyjaman. – I (will) put on the pyjamas (completely).
Syön omenan. – I (will) eat the apple (all of it).

In puen pyjaman päälle, you still have that same idea of a complete object: you’re putting on the whole pyjamas. So pyjama → pyjaman follows regular object-case rules.

What is the difference between pukea and pukeutua?

They are related but used differently:

pukea = to dress (someone/something), to put clothes on (something)
- Takes a direct object.
- Example: Puen pyjaman päälle. – I put on pyjamas.
pukeutua = to get dressed / to dress oneself (often with “into” some type of clothing)
- Usually followed by illative case (mihin? → “into what?”) or adverbs.
- Example: Pukeudun pyjamaan. – I dress in pyjamas / I put on pyjamas (lit. “I dress myself into pyjamas”).

In everyday speech, both can be used about dressing oneself, but grammatically:

pukea focuses on the clothing as an object.
pukeutua focuses on the person getting dressed.

Why is it luen kirjaa with kirjaa in the partitive, not luen kirjan?

Kirjaa is the partitive case of kirja. The choice between kirjaa (partitive) and kirjan (genitive/accusative) expresses a nuance similar to ongoing / incomplete vs. complete:

luen kirjaa
- Partitive object → the action is ongoing, incomplete, or unbounded.
- Typically understood as: I (am) read(ing) a book / I read some of a book / I’m in the middle of reading it.
luen kirjan
- Genitive/accusative object → the action is completed with respect to that object.
- Typically understood as: I (will) read the book completely / I’ll finish the book.

In your sentence, luen kirjaa suggests habitual or ongoing reading in the evenings, not necessarily finishing the book every time. That’s why kirjaa (partitive) fits well.

Could I also say luen kirjan sängyssä, and how would the meaning change?

Yes, luen kirjan sängyssä is grammatically correct, but it means something more specific:

luen kirjaa sängyssä
- “I read (some) of a book in bed / I (am) read(ing) a book in bed.”
- Focus: ongoing activity; not necessarily finishing the book.
luen kirjan sängyssä
- “I (will) read the book (from start to finish) in bed.”
- Focus: the completed result: you finish the entire book, and you do it in bed.

In everyday conversation about nighttime routine, luen kirjaa sängyssä is more natural, because most people do not finish a whole book every evening.

Why is it sängyssä and not sängyllä or just sänky?

Sängyssä is the inessive case (ending -ssä/-ssä) and means “in the bed”.

sänky – bed (basic form)
sängyssä – in the bed (inside/within the bed)
sängyllä – on the bed (on top of the bed surface)

In Finnish, -ssa/-ssä is used for being inside or within something, while -lla/-llä is used for being on the surface of something. When you say you’re reading in bed, the natural image is that you’re in the bed (under the covers or at least inside its space), so sängyssä is used.

You would use sängyllä for something more literally “on top of the bed”, for example:

Kissa nukkuu sängyllä. – The cat is sleeping on the bed.

If I want to say “in my bed”, why isn’t it sängyssäni here?

You could say sängyssäni (“in my bed”), and it is correct:

luen kirjaa sängyssäni – I read a book in my bed.

However, Finnish often leaves out possessive endings when it’s obvious from context whose thing it is. In a sentence about your evening routine, it’s naturally understood that the bed is yours, so just sängyssä is enough.

Both are acceptable; sängyssä is simply more neutral and common in everyday speech for this type of sentence.

Why does sänky change to sängyssä? Where does the g and the -ssä come from?

Two things happen:

Case ending (inessive)
- -ssä is the inessive ending meaning “in, inside”:
  - sänky → sängyssä = in the bed
Consonant gradation / stem change
- sänky has the stem sängy- in many case forms.
- This is part of consonant gradation and stem alternation, a regular feature in Finnish.
- So the base form sänky alternates with a stem sängy- before case endings:
  - sänky → sängyssä (inessive: in the bed)
  - sänky → sängyssäni (in my bed)
  - sänky → sängyssäkin (even in the bed)

You just have to learn that some words change their stem in oblique cases; sänky → sängy- is one of those patterns.

Why is there no subject pronoun like minä (“I”) in the sentence?

In Finnish, the personal ending on the verb already tells you who the subject is, so the pronoun is often dropped.

puen – I put on (1st person singular)
luen – I read (1st person singular)

Because the verb forms already show “I”, adding minä is usually only for emphasis:

Illalla minä puen pyjaman päälle ja luen kirjaa sängyssä.
→ I (as opposed to someone else) put on pyjamas and read in bed.

The neutral, un-emphasized sentence simply leaves the pronoun out. This is completely normal in Finnish.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Illalla luen kirjaa sängyssä ja puen pyjaman päälle instead?

Finnish word order is fairly flexible, and you can rearrange parts of the sentence as long as the grammar stays correct. However, word order does affect emphasis and what sounds natural.

Original:

Illalla puen pyjaman päälle ja luen kirjaa sängyssä.
→ First you mention getting dressed, then reading.

Alternative:

Illalla luen kirjaa sängyssä ja puen pyjaman päälle.
→ Suggests you read first and then put on pyjamas, which is a bit unusual as a routine.

Other possible word orders (all grammatical, different focus):

Puen illalla pyjaman päälle ja luen kirjaa sängyssä.
Illalla sängyssä luen kirjaa ja puen pyjaman päälle. (odd routine, but grammatical)

So yes, you can move elements around, but the original order is the most natural match for the typical evening sequence: first pyjamas, then reading in bed.

How do you pronounce pyjaman päälle? Especially the j and the double ä in päälle?

Pronunciation tips:

pyjaman
- py like “pu” in put, but with rounded lips and a front vowel (somewhere between pu and French u).
- j is like English “y” in yes.
- ma as in mama.
- n as in no.
  → Roughly: “py-ya-man” (all syllables short and even).
päälle
- Stress is always on the first syllable: PÄÄL-le.
- ä like a in British cat.
- ää is simply a long version of that sound (hold it longer).
- ll is a long l (slightly lengthened).
- e as in bed.
  → Roughly: “PÄÄL-leh”, with a clearly long ä and long l.

So together:
pyjaman päälle → PY-ya-man PÄÄL-leh, with primary stress on py and pää.