Chinese word

语气

Pronunciation

Pinyinyǔ qì

Meaning

  • nountone of voice

Example

他说话的语气太强会让人不舒服。tā shuō huà de yǔ qì tài qiáng huì ràng rén bù shū fú

His tone of voice is too forceful, which makes people uncomfortable.

Illustration for 语气 (tone of voice)

More examples

在会议上，他语气很冷淡，让大家感到尴尬。zài huì yì shàng tā yǔ qì hěn lěng dàn ràng dà jiā gǎn dào gān gà

At the meeting, his tone was very cold, making everyone feel awkward.

Core concept

The layer of meaning carried by pace, pitch, force, and small spoken particles rather than by words alone.

Common phrases

  • 语气强硬yǔ qì qiáng yìng

    forceful tone

  • 语气温和yǔ qì wēn hé

    gentle tone

  • 语气冷淡yǔ qì lěng dàn

    cold tone

Similar words

口气kǒu qì: The manner of speaking that shows how someone feels about what is being said.
语调yǔ diào: The pattern of rising and falling sounds in a person's voice.
语气词yǔ qì cí: A short added word that shows the speaker's feeling or attitude.
口吻kóu wěn: The overall manner and wording of someone's speech.

Definition in Chinese

表示说话人通过语速、声调、语气词等传递出的态度或情感。biǎo shì shuō huà rén tōng guò yǔ sù shēng diào yǔ qì cí děng chuán dì chū de tài dù huò qíng gǎn

Word origin

The compound joins 语 (yǔ, "speech") with 气 (qì, "air or breath"), treating vocal delivery as the air and energy behind words.

Usage tips

  • In requests, reminders, and corrections, a slower pace and a softer ending commonly reduce the force of the message, making delivery an important part of everyday politeness.

Other meanings

  • intonationnoun
  • way of speakingnoun

Related words

  • 语气词yǔ qì címodal particlenoun
  • 语气助词yǔ qì zhù císentence-final particlenoun

Word lists with this word