Soitin

Soitin is a Finnish noun meaning instrument, most commonly a musical instrument. It refers to any device that produces sound used to create music or to perform a function, but in everyday Finnish it almost always denotes a musical instrument such as a piano, guitar, violin, or flute.

The word is derived from the verb soittaa “to play” and the suffix -in, which forms a noun referring to the thing that is played. Related terms include soittaja (a person who plays), soitto (playing or performance), and various musical-context compounds that use the root soiti- or soi-.

Usage in Finnish centers on the verb soittaa with an instrument as the object (soittaa kitaraa, soittaa pianoa). The plural form is soittimet. Soitin is a basic term in music education, repertoire discussions, and catalogs of instruments, and it frequently appears in both classrooms and musical contexts.

Notes: Although soitin generally means a musical instrument, in some contexts it can be used more broadly for devices designed to produce sound. For non-musical devices, speakers typically use terms such as laite or äänentoistolaite. Overall, soitin remains the standard everyday word for musical instruments in Finnish.