Syödessäni aamiaista kuuntelen samalla suomenkielistä podcastia.

Syödessäni comes from the verb syödä (to eat) and is:

• the 2nd infinitive, inessive case (syödessä)
• plus the 1st person singular possessive suffix -ni (my / while I…)

So structurally it is:

• syö-d-e-ssa-ni
  
  • syö- = verb stem of syödä
  • -d- = linking consonant
  • -e- = infinitive marker
  • -ssa = inessive ending (in/while doing)
  • -ni = my / I (shows who is doing the action)

Meaning in context: syödessäni aamiaista ≈ while I am eating breakfast or when I eat breakfast.

This -essa/-essä form is commonly used to express “while doing X / when doing X” in Finnish.

Aamiaista is the partitive form of aamiainen (breakfast).

Reasons it is in the partitive:

1. Eating an indefinite amount
   With foods and drinks, Finnish often uses the partitive when you are talking about:

   • an unspecified amount
   • a normal meal, not a clearly delimited portion

   So syön aamiaista is like I’m (having) breakfast or I eat breakfast, without stressing a specific, completed portion.

2. Typical with the verb syödä
   With syödä, the partitive object is very common when talking about eating in general or habitually.

Compare:

• Syön aamiaista. – I’m having breakfast. (normal, ongoing, general)
• Syön aamiaisen. – I’ll eat (all of) the breakfast. (more like a whole, finished meal/event)

In your sentence, the idea is a routine activity: while having breakfast, so aamiaista (partitive) is the natural choice.

Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in style and nuance.

• Syödessäni aamiaista kuuntelen…

  • Uses the 2nd infinitive inessive (syödessäni)
  • Sounds slightly more compact and written / neutral
  • Expresses “while (I’m) eating breakfast” in a very tight form.

• Kun syön aamiaista, kuuntelen…

  • Uses a normal finite clause with kun (when)
  • Sounds very natural and is common in spoken Finnish
  • Slightly more explicit: literally when I eat breakfast…

In everyday speech, both patterns are used. The -essa/-essä form (like syödessäni) is very common in both speech and writing for “while doing X”.

Samalla is an adverb meaning roughly:

• at the same time
• simultaneously
• at the same time as that

In the sentence:

• Syödessäni aamiaista kuuntelen samalla suomenkielistä podcastia.

it emphasizes that the two actions happen at the same time:

• While I am eating breakfast, I also listen to a Finnish-language podcast at the same time.

If you remove samalla:

• Syödessäni aamiaista kuuntelen suomenkielistä podcastia.

it still implies simultaneity because of syödessäni, but you lose the extra emphasis of “also / simultaneously / in parallel.”

So:

• Grammatically: you can leave it out.
• Stylistically: samalla makes the “multitasking” feeling clearer and a bit stronger.

Suomenkielistä podcastia is an adjective + noun phrase, and both words match each other in:

• singular
• partitive case

Breakdown:

• podcastia

  • partitive singular of podcast
  • required because the verb kuunnella (listen to) typically takes a partitive object, especially for an ongoing or habitual action (not listening all the way through one specific, finite thing).

• suomenkielistä

  • partitive singular of the adjective suomenkielinen (Finnish-language)
  • adjectives must agree in case and number with the noun they modify.

So:

• Noun: podcastia (partitive singular)
• Adjective: suomenkielistä (partitive singular to match)

You cannot mix them like suomenkielinen podcastia; they must agree: suomenkielistä podcastia.

These two adjectives mean different things:

• suomenkielinen podcast

  • literally: Finnish-language podcast
  • focus: the language used is Finnish
  • could be made anywhere in the world, by anyone, as long as it is in Finnish.

• suomalainen podcast

  • literally: Finnish (from Finland) podcast
  • focus: origin / nationality
  • usually: created by Finns or produced in Finland
  • the language might be Finnish, English, Swedish, etc.

Your sentence wishes to highlight that you are listening in Finnish, so suomenkielistä podcastia is the precise and natural choice.

Yes, Finnish word order is quite flexible. Some natural alternatives:

1. Kuuntelen samalla suomenkielistä podcastia syödessäni aamiaista.

   • More neutral “verb-first” order.
   • Focuses first on what you do (listen), then adds when (while eating).

2. Samalla kuuntelen suomenkielistä podcastia syödessäni aamiaista.

   • Starts with samalla to emphasize simultaneity: At the same time, I listen…

3. Syödessäni aamiaista samalla kuuntelen suomenkielistä podcastia.

   • Keeps the time phrase first, but pushes samalla nearer the verb.

Main points:

• The basic informational structure of the original (time clause first, then main clause) is very natural in Finnish.
• Changing the order is usually OK as long as the relationships stay clear and the sentence doesn’t become awkwardly heavy in the middle.
• The default is often:
  [time / context] + [verb] + [rest]
  which your original sentence follows.

You will see both forms, but there are differences.

• Syödessäni aamiaista kuuntelen…

  • -ni clearly marks that I am the one eating.
  • Subject of syödessäni and of kuuntelen is clearly the same (I).

• Syödessä aamiaista kuuntelen…

  • Grammatically possible and often used, especially in speech.
  • The subject is understood from context: While eating breakfast, I listen…
    → it’s still interpreted as I am eating.
  • Feels a bit more impersonal / generic, but in a 1st-person context it’s still fine.

However, note:

• Without the possessive suffix, syödessä aamiaista can also be used generically:
  when (one is) eating breakfast / while people eat breakfast.
• In careful written Finnish, adding the possessive suffix (syödessäni) is often preferred to make the subject relationship completely explicit.

In everyday usage, you will encounter both forms.

The verb kuunnella (to listen to) typically prefers a partitive object, especially for:

• ongoing, habitual, or partial listening
• activities that don’t necessarily have a clear endpoint or completed result

In your sentence:

• kuuntelen samalla suomenkielistä podcastia
  → I (habitually) listen to a Finnish-language podcast (while eating)
  → not about finishing a specific episode or the whole series, but about the general activity.

Using a total object (often genitive form):

• Kuuntelin sen podcastin.
  → I listened to that podcast (completely / through).
  
  • Here the meaning is bounded and completed: you listened from beginning to end.

So:

• podcastia (partitive) = ongoing, habitual, or partial listening
• podcastin (total object) = listening to the whole of some specific podcast (episode/series)

Suomenkielistä is the partitive singular of the adjective suomenkielinen (Finnish-language).

Breakdown:

1. suomi

   • the language Finnish (as a noun)

2. kieli

   • language

3. -nen / -linen pattern

   • kieli
     • -nen → kielinen
   • attached to suomen (the genitive of suomi)
     → suomenkielinen = in the Finnish language, Finnish-language

4. Case marking:

   • Base: suomenkielinen (nominative singular)
   • Partitive singular: suomenkielistä

So in your sentence:

• suomenkielistä podcastia = a podcast that is in the Finnish language
• both suomenkielistä and podcastia are in partitive singular to match each other and to fit the verb kuunnella.