Vocabulary
der
Tonfall
/ˈtoːnfal/· noun· Pl. die Tonfälle
tone (of voice or of a text); intonation
How something is said: friendly, sharp, ironic. Readers hear a tone in a text too — and complain when it's wrong.
CEFR C1Frequency ●●●●●
Your memory
New
Learning
Familiar
Strong
Mastered
Forms
- Singular
- der Tonfall
- Plural
- die Tonfälle
- Genitiv
- des Tonfalls
One word, many lives
Tap a meaning. Real German isn't a dictionary translation.
Tonfall
tone (attitude in speech or text)
Der Tonfall des Kommentars ist überheblich.
The tone of the commentary is condescending.
Word family
Tonfallder Tontone, soundder Untertonundertonebetonento stress, to emphasise
Common combinations
- in scharfem Tonfallin a sharp tone
- den richtigen Tonfall treffento strike the right tone
- sich im Tonfall vergreifento adopt the wrong tone
Real examples
- Den Inhalt teile ich, den Tonfall nicht.I share the content, but not the tone.
- In einem ironischen Tonfall zitiert sie den Brief der Behörde.In an ironic tone she quotes the authority's letter.
- Für einen Leitartikel ist der Tonfall zu flapsig.The tone is too flippant for an editorial.
