Learn Hardcore Finnish: Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.

Subject: Päivän loppu
- Literally “day’s end” = the end of the day
Verb (copula): on = is
Predicate adjective: rauhallinen = peaceful

So grammatically: [Päivän loppu] (subject) – [on] (verb) – [rauhallinen] (adjective describing the subject).

Why is it päivän and not päivä?

Päivän is the genitive form of päivä.

päivä = day (basic / dictionary form, nominative)
päivän = of the day (genitive singular)

In Finnish, when you say “X of Y” (like “end of the day”), Y is put in the genitive:

päivän loppu = end of the day
kirjan nimi = name of the book
koiran häntä = tail of the dog

So you need päivän (genitive) because it’s “the end of the day,” not just “day end” with both in basic form.

Why is loppu in its basic form and not something like lopun?

In the phrase päivän loppu:

päivän (genitive) = “of the day”
loppu (nominative) = “end”

In a “X of Y” structure:

Y (the possessor) → genitive (here: päivän)
X (the thing possessed / head noun) → usually nominative when it’s the subject (here: loppu)

If you changed loppu to lopun, you would get päivän lopun, which is also a possible phrase, but it is now genitive as well and used in different roles, for example:

Päivän lopun muistan hyvin.
“I remember the end of the day well.”
Here päivän lopun is an object in the sentence.

In your original sentence, Päivän loppu is the subject, so loppu stays in nominative.

Why is rauhallinen in this form, and how would it change in other situations?

Rauhallinen is an adjective meaning “peaceful, calm.”

In Finnish, adjectives usually agree with the noun (or subject) in number and case when they are used as a predicate (after on).

Here:

Subject: loppu = nominative singular
Predicate adjective: rauhallinen = nominative singular

So:

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.
The end of the day is peaceful.

If the subject changed, the adjective would change too:

Plural subject: Päivän loput ovat rauhallisia.
The ends of the days are peaceful.
- loput = plural
- rauhallisia = plural partitive (here showing a quality of many things)
Different case as subject (e.g. genitive meaning “as a …”):
Päivän loppu on rauhallisen. – very unusual; mostly in special structures, so you can ignore this for now.

For you as a learner, the key point:

Nominative singular subject → nominative singular adjective
→ loppu … rauhallinen

Could you also say Päivän loppu on rauhallista instead of rauhallinen? What’s the difference?

Both are grammatically possible, but they have different nuances.

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.
- rauhallinen = nominative adjective
- Feels more like a firm, characterizing statement about the end of the day.
- Roughly: The end of the day is (a) peaceful (time/thing).
Päivän loppu on rauhallista.
- rauhallista = partitive form of rauhallinen
- The partitive here treats “peacefulness” more like an ongoing quality or some amount of peacefulness, often a bit more descriptive or general in tone.
- Roughly: The end of the day is peaceful (in the sense that there is peacefulness at that time).

As a learner, you can safely use rauhallinen here; it is the straightforward, neutral choice. The partitive version is more about subtle aspect/nuance and is not needed at beginner level.

How do you pronounce ä in päivän and the double pp in loppu?

Ä in päivän:

Finnish ä is like the vowel in English “cat”, “bad” (but usually a bit clearer and tenser).
päivän is roughly like “paivan”, where ai is one syllable, similar to the vowel in “eye”.

Double consonant pp in loppu:

Finnish double consonants are longer and stronger than single ones.
loppu is lop-pu, with a clearly held /p/ sound.
- Compare:
  - lopo (if it existed) would be quick: lo-po
  - loppu is: lop-pu, with a little “stop” or hold before the u.

Also, Finnish stress is always on the first syllable:

PÄI-vän LOP-pu on RAU-hal-li-nen

Does päivän loppu mean specifically “the end of the day,” or can it also mean something like “end of daytime” or “towards evening”?

The primary meaning of päivän loppu is “the end of the day”.

But in Finnish, päivä can mean:

calendar day, or
daytime as opposed to night.

So päivän loppu can suggest:

the late part of the day (often in the afternoon/evening),
the time when the day is winding down.

Context will decide whether it’s understood more as a calendar day ending or just “towards the end of the daytime.” In ordinary everyday use, both readings are very close, so the phrase works for both.

There is no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence. How do you know it’s “the end of the day is peaceful” and not “an end of a day is peaceful”?

Finnish has no articles (no the, no a/an).

Definiteness is understood from:

context,
word forms (cases),
and what is natural to assume.

Here:

Päivän loppu is naturally understood as “the” end of the day, because:
- For any given day, there is usually only one “end.”
- Talking about “an end of a day” would be very unusual in real life.

So:

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.
is normally translated as
“The end of the day is peaceful.”

If you really wanted to emphasize something like “some end of some day (unspecified)”, you would need a different wording or context, not just this sentence.

Can I change the word order, for example say Rauhallinen on päivän loppu?

Finnish word order is fairly flexible, especially for emphasis.

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.
– neutral, most common order (subject–verb–adjective).
Rauhallinen on päivän loppu.
– possible, but sounds emphatic / poetic / stylistic.
– It puts focus on rauhallinen:
Peaceful is the end of the day (as opposed to something else).

In everyday neutral speech and writing, stick with:

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.

Can you leave out on and just say Päivän loppu rauhallinen?

In normal full sentences, you should keep on:

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.

Leaving out on (Päivän loppu rauhallinen):

can occur in headlines, notes, or very telegraphic style,
but it sounds incomplete or non-standard as a regular sentence.

So for correct, neutral Finnish:

Use the verb on in this type of sentence.

How does rauhallinen work if I put it before a noun, like “a peaceful day”?

When rauhallinen comes before a noun, it behaves like a normal adjective:

rauhallinen päivä = a/the peaceful day
rauhallinen ilta = a/the peaceful evening
rauhallinen paikka = a peaceful place

The form of rauhallinen will change with the noun in case and number:

rauhallinen päivä – nominative singular
rauhallisen päivän – genitive singular
rauhallista päivää – partitive singular
rauhalliset päivät – nominative plural
rauhallisia päiviä – partitive plural

In your original sentence, rauhallinen stands alone as a predicate after on, but it is still describing loppu in the same way:

Päivän loppu on rauhallinen.
= Päivän loppu is (a) peaceful (thing/time).