tone of voice
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tone of voice
The way the voice sounds when speaking, especially the melody and stress of the voice, which often expresses a particular emotion or attitude.
An seinem spöttischen Tonfall merkte ich sofort, dass er es nicht ernst meinte.
From his mocking tone of voice, I immediately noticed that he was not serious.
The word is made up of 'Ton' (tone) and 'Fall' (fall). Figuratively, it describes how the 'melody' of the voice 'falls' at the end of a sentence or word and thus conveys a particular emotion.
Sein fragender Tonfall verriet seine Unsicherheit.
His questioning tone of voice revealed his uncertainty.
Very often, 'Tonfall' (tone of voice) is used with the preposition 'an' and the dative to express what lets you recognize an emotion or intention. The typical structure is 'an jemandem/jemandes Tonfall etwas merken/erkennen' (to notice/recognize something from someone's tone of voice).
Ich habe an ihrem Tonfall sofort erkannt, dass etwas nicht stimmte.
I immediately recognized from her tone of voice that something was wrong.
'Tonfall' (tone of voice) is often described with adjectives that express an emotion or attitude. Common examples are a friendly, sharp, ironic, factual, or annoyed tone of voice.
Bitte sprich in einem freundlicheren Tonfall mit mir.
Please speak to me in a friendlier tone of voice.
tone / clay
Ton and Tonfall both describe how an utterance comes across. Ton is the broader term for the linguistic attitude or mood and can also be used in writing; Tonfall refers more specifically to how the voice sounds when speaking. Use Ton in general and Tonfall especially for spoken language that can be heard.
An ihrem Tonfall hörte man trotz der Absage ihre Enttäuschung.
Despite the rejection, you could hear her disappointment in her tone of voice.
Der Ton seiner Nachricht war trotz der Absage höflich.
The tone of his message was polite despite the rejection.
