Laulu

Laulu is a Finnish noun meaning “song.” It refers to a musical composition with lyrics that is sung and is used for songs across genres, from folk to pop or classical. The term can denote a single song or songs in general. In Finnish, the plural form is laulut, and the word is widely used in education, media, and everyday speech.

In Finnish culture, songs have a long-standing importance. Traditional singing often links melody to storytelling; runonlaulajat are singers who perform runo-based epic poetry with melody, illustrating how song and verse have been intertwined in history. In modern times, laulu remains the standard word for a song in contemporary music, textbooks, criticism, and broadcasts, and appears in compound terms such as lauluntekijä (songwriter) and laulukirja (songbook).

The word laulu can also appear as a Finnish surname, and may be encountered as a proper noun in names and titles. It functions as the basic lexical item for discussions of music in Finnish and serves as a reference point for translations and descriptions of musical works that feature lyrics.

In summary, laulu is the primary Finnish term for a vocal musical piece, applicable to traditional, folk, and contemporary songs, and it sits at the center of both everyday language and cultural discussions of music in Finland.