Learn Hardcore Finnish: Päivän lopussa tunnen mukavaa väsymystä ja olen hieman ylpeä, koska olen taas askeleen lähempänä tavoitettani. - At the end of the day I feel a pleasant tiredness and I am a little proud, because I am again one step closer to my goal.

päivän (genitive) tells us whose end it is (the day's end).
lopussa (inessive) is a common way to say at the end (of a period):
- vuoden lopussa = at the end of the year
- viikon lopussa = at the end of the week

Why is it mukavaa väsymystä and not mukava väsymys? Why the partitive case?

Two things are going on:

Väsymystä (partitive singular of väsymys, tiredness)
- Many feelings and states appear in the partitive when you experience them, especially with verbs like tuntea (to feel):
  - tunnen iloa = I feel joy
  - tunnen surua = I feel sorrow
  - tunnen väsymystä = I feel tiredness
- Partitive here suggests a non‑complete, ongoing amount of tiredness, not a clearly bounded thing.
Mukavaa (partitive singular of mukava, pleasant)
- The adjective agrees in case with the noun it modifies:
  - nominative: mukava väsymys
  - partitive: mukavaa väsymystä
- Because väsymystä is partitive, mukava must also be in partitive (mukavaa).

So tunnen mukavaa väsymystä is the natural way to say I feel a pleasant/comfortable kind of tiredness.

What nuance does mukavaa väsymystä have? Is it “comfortable tiredness” or “nice tiredness”?

Mukava is quite flexible in Finnish. Depending on context, it can mean:

nice / pleasant
comfortable
enjoyable

In mukavaa väsymystä the idea is usually:

a pleasant or satisfying kind of tiredness
the feeling you get after a productive day, good exercise, etc.

So a natural English rendering would be something like:

a pleasant tiredness
a nice kind of fatigue
a good sort of tiredness (not a bad one)

It does not mean that the person is sleepy in a “cozy bed” sense specifically; it’s more about the positive, earned quality of the fatigue.

Why is the noun väsymys used instead of the adjective väsynyt (tired)?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

väsynyt = tired (adjective, describing a person or state)
- olen väsynyt = I am tired
väsymys = tiredness, fatigue (noun, the feeling itself)
- tunnen väsymystä = I feel tiredness

In the sentence:

tunnen mukavaa väsymystä focuses on feeling a certain kind of fatigue as a thing or state.
If you said olen mukavan väsynyt, that would focus more on being nicely tired as your state.

Both are correct, but the original version emphasizes experiencing this pleasant tiredness.

Why is there no minä (I) in tunnen mukavaa väsymystä ja olen hieman ylpeä?

Finnish usually drops personal pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person:

tunnen = I feel
olen = I am

Because the -n ending in both verbs clearly marks first person singular, minä would be redundant:

(minä) tunnen
(minä) olen

You can say:

Minä tunnen mukavaa väsymystä ja olen hieman ylpeä.

…but it adds emphasis on I, like:

I feel pleasantly tired and I am a bit proud (as opposed to someone else).

In neutral sentences, native speakers usually leave minä out.

What does hieman mean here, and how is it different from vähän?

Hieman = a little, slightly.

In this sentence:

olen hieman ylpeä = I am a little bit proud / slightly proud.

Comparison with vähän:

hieman
- slightly more neutral or formal
- often used in writing or more careful speech
vähän
- very common in spoken language
- can also mean “a bit / some / not much”

You could say:

Olen vähän ylpeä – totally correct and very natural in everyday speech.

Here, hieman softens ylpeä so it doesn’t sound like arrogant pride, but more like modest, reasonable pride.

What does taas add to koska olen taas askeleen lähempänä tavoitettani?

Taas usually means again, but it can have a few nuances:

Again, once more
- You were closer to your goal before, then something happened, and now you’re closer again.
Back (to a previous situation)
- Similar idea: returning to a previous state of “being closer”.
Mild sense of “yet again / once more”
- Can be positive or negative depending on context.

In this sentence, the usual reading is positive:

because I am again one step closer to my goal
because I am once more a step closer to my goal

Position: taas normally comes before the part it's modifying, so:

olen taas askeleen lähempänä is the most natural.
Other positions (e.g. olen askeleen taas lähempänä) are possible but sound less neutral.

How does askeleen lähempänä work grammatically?

Askeleen lähempänä literally = (by) a step closer.

Breakdown:

askel = a step
askeleen = of a step (genitive singular)
- indicates amount or measure: “by a step”
lähempänä = closer (essive case of lähempi, the comparative of lähellä, near)

So:

olen askeleen lähempänä = I am a step closer
You can also say:
- Olen askeleen lähempänä kotia. = I am a step closer to home.

The essive -nä in lähempänä is typical in expressions of state:

olen väsyneenä = being tired / in a tired state
olen lähempänä = (I am) in a closer state / position

Here it simply functions as “closer” in a comparative, somewhat idiomatic structure.

What exactly is tavoitettani, and why is it in that form?

Tavoitettani comes from:

tavoite = goal, objective
tavoite → tavoite + tta → tavoitetta (partitive singular)
tavoitetta + ni → tavoitettani (partitive singular + possessive suffix “my”)

So tavoitettani = (of) my goal in partitive singular.

Why partitive?

Words related to closeness and distance like lähellä (near), lähempänä (closer) typically take a partitive complement:
- lähellä kotia = near home
- lähempänä tavoitetta = closer to the goal
Partitive also fits the idea that the goal is not reached yet, it’s something you’re moving toward.

So askeleen lähempänä tavoitettani = a step closer to my goal.

Without the -ni you would have:

askeleen lähempänä tavoitetta = a step closer to the goal (not necessarily your own)
askeleen lähempänä tavoitettani = a step closer to my goal.

Could the word order be different, for example Tunnen päivän lopussa mukavaa väsymystä?

Yes, Finnish word order is relatively flexible, and changes mainly affect emphasis and rhythm, not basic meaning.

Original:

Päivän lopussa tunnen mukavaa väsymystä…
- Emphasis on when this happens: at the end of the day.

Possible alternatives:

Tunnen päivän lopussa mukavaa väsymystä…
- Still correct. Slightly more focus on what I feel (tunnen mukavaa väsymystä) and then specifying when.
Tunnen mukavaa väsymystä päivän lopussa…
- Also possible. Here the core is “I feel pleasant tiredness”, with päivän lopussa as an added detail.

All of these are grammatically fine; the original is very natural and puts the time frame first, which is common in narratives: setting the scene (“at the end of the day…”) and then describing what happens.