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ääni is a Finnish noun meaning "sound." It refers to any audible phenomenon produced by vibration, and it is used for a wide range of senses, including environmental noises, voices, and musical pitches. In everyday language, ääni can denote the sound of a person’s voice or the tonal quality of an instrument, as well as general noises in the surroundings. In music, ääni can mean a pitch or note heard, though the term sävel is commonly used for a specific musical note.

In linguistics, a related term is äänne, which denotes a phoneme or a distinct sound unit; ääni, by contrast, covers audible sounds more broadly and is not restricted to phonemic contrasts.

In contemporary Finnish, ääni also appears in compound terms related to audio and media, such as äänite (recording), äänentoisto (sound system), and äänikortti (sound card), reflecting its role in technology and communication.

The term is widely used across science, education, media, and everyday life to describe anything perceived auditorily, and it is part of a broader Finnish vocabulary for acoustics, hearing, and voice.