Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.

I eat the dinner up, even though I am tired.

Breakdown of Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.

• minä: I
• olla: to be
• väsynyt: tired
• vaikka: even though
• illallinen: the dinner
• syödä loppuun: to eat up

Questions & Answers about Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.

What does syön mean, and why does it end in -n?

Syön is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb syödä (to eat).

• syödä = infinitive “to eat”
• syö- = verb stem
• -n = 1st person singular ending (“I”)

So syön literally means “I eat” or “I am eating” (Finnish doesn’t normally distinguish between simple and continuous like English does).

Why is it illallisen and not illallinen or illallista?

The base form is illallinen (“dinner”). In this sentence, illallisen is the object of the verb syön, and it appears in a “total object” form (often called the accusative/genitive form).

• illallinen = dictionary form (nominative)
• illallisen = total object (shows that the dinner is eaten completely)

The choice of object case in Finnish is meaningful:

• Syön illallista. = “I am eating dinner.” (ongoing, not necessarily finished; partitive object)
• Syön illallisen. = “I (will) eat the dinner (up).” (whole thing; complete event)

In your sentence, illallisen fits because the action is understood as completed, especially together with loppuun (“to the end”).

What exactly does loppuun mean, and why does it end in -un?

The base word is loppu = “end”.

Loppuun is illative case (“into / to a place/goal”) of loppu:

• loppu (base form) = end
• loppuun (illative) = “into/to the end”

Literally, syödä loppuun is “to eat to the end,” which idiomatically means “to finish eating” / “to eat up”.

So Syön illallisen loppuun = “I eat the dinner to the end” → “I will finish my dinner.”

Is loppuun necessary? What’s the difference between Syön illallisen and Syön illallisen loppuun?

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

• Syön illallisen.
  Focus: you will eat the whole dinner (complete object), but it’s a bit more neutral.

• Syön illallisen loppuun.
  Focus: you are explicitly finishing it off, stressing completion, often despite something (like being full, tired, in a hurry, etc.).

In your full sentence with vaikka olen väsynyt, loppuun reinforces the idea:
“I’ll finish my dinner (all the way), even though I’m tired.”

Why is there a comma before vaikka?

Vaikka introduces a subordinate clause (“even though / although”). In written Finnish, a comma is normally placed before such clauses.

• Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.

This is similar to English punctuation in:
“I’ll finish my dinner, although I’m tired.”

Can I put the vaikka-clause first? For example: Vaikka olen väsynyt, syön illallisen loppuun.

Yes, that is perfectly correct and quite natural.

• Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.
• Vaikka olen väsynyt, syön illallisen loppuun.

Both mean the same thing. Changing the order just shifts the emphasis slightly:

• Starting with Vaikka olen väsynyt frontloads the contrast (“Even though I’m tired…”).
• Starting with Syön illallisen loppuun emphasizes the action first (“I will finish my dinner…”).

What does vaikka mean here, and how is it different from koska?

In this sentence, vaikka means “even though / although”, and introduces a concessive clause (something that is true but does not stop the main action).

• Syön illallisen loppuun, vaikka olen väsynyt.
  = “I will finish my dinner, even though I’m tired.”
  (Being tired does not prevent you from finishing.)

Koska means “because / since” and introduces a reason:

• Syön illallisen loppuun, koska olen väsynyt.
  = “I will finish my dinner, because I’m tired.”
  (Being tired is the reason you finish, for example to go to bed.)

So:

• vaikka → contrast / concession
• koska → cause / reason

Why is it olen väsynyt and not something like olen väsynytnä or olen väsynytä?

The base adjective is väsynyt = “tired” (originally a past participle of väsyä, “to get tired”).

In this sentence, väsynyt is just a normal predicate adjective describing the subject:

• olen = “I am”
• väsynyt = “tired”

So olen väsynyt = “I am tired.”

Forms like:

• väsynytnä = essive case (“as tired”), used in special structures
• väsynyttä = partitive form, used in other grammatical contexts

are not needed here. The simple nominative väsynyt is the standard form after olla (“to be”) when stating a quality: olen väsynyt, olen iloinen, olen nälkäinen, etc.

How would I say “I am eating dinner” (right now) instead of “I’ll finish my dinner”?

To emphasize the ongoing action (like English “I am eating dinner”), you would normally use the partitive object:

• Syön illallista. = “I am eating dinner.” / “I eat some dinner.”

Compare:

• Syön illallista.
  → ongoing, some amount of dinner, not talking about completion.

• Syön illallisen (loppuun).
  → I will eat the whole dinner; focus on completing it.

So your original sentence is about finishing, not just being in the middle of eating.

What is the difference between illallinen and other Finnish words for meals, like päivällinen?

Illallinen and päivällinen can both refer to a main meal, but there are some tendencies and variation by region and family:

• aamiainen = breakfast
• lounas = lunch
• päivällinen = (traditionally) the main meal, often in the afternoon / early evening
• illallinen = dinner, often a later or more formal evening meal

In everyday modern usage, many people just use illallinen for “dinner” (evening meal), and päivällinen can sound a bit more traditional or regional, but this varies.

For your purposes, you can treat illallinen as “dinner” (the evening meal).