Tonal — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words

having tonality; i.e. tones and chords organized in relation to one tone such as a keynote or tonic

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/tˈoʊnəl/

🇬🇧British English

/tˈəʊnəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/tˈəʊnəl/

2 syllables Say it as /tˈoʊnəl/.

Examples

Chinese is a tonal language

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

tonic

Antonyms

atonal

Parts of Speech

adjective	employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words “Chinese is a tonal language”
adjective	having tonality; i.e. tones and chords organized in relation to one tone such as a keynote or tonic

Word Forms

tone	noun	(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages
tonality	noun	any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music

Around the World

Europe

🇮🇹Italian

tonale

impiegando variazioni di tono per distinguere significati di parole altrimenti simili

🇳🇱Dutch

tonaal

waarbij variaties in toonhoogte worden gebruikt om de betekenissen van anderszins vergelijkbare woorden te onderscheiden

🇷🇺Russian

тональный

использование вариаций высоты звука для различения значений слов, в остальном похожих

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तानवाला

अन्यथा समान शब्दों के अर्थ को अलग करने के लिए पिच में भिन्नता का उपयोग करना

🇧🇩Bengali

টোনাল

অন্যথায় অনুরূপ শব্দের অর্থ আলাদা করার জন্য পিচের বিভিন্নতা ব্যবহার করা

🇮🇳Tamil

தொனி

மற்றபடி ஒத்த சொற்களின் அர்த்தங்களை வேறுபடுத்துவதற்கு சுருதியில் மாறுபாடுகளைப் பயன்படுத்துதல்

🇮🇳Telugu

టోనల్

సారూప్య పదాల అర్థాలను వేరు చేయడానికి పిచ్‌లో వైవిధ్యాలను ఉపయోగించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

टोनल

अन्यथा समान शब्दांचे अर्थ वेगळे करण्यासाठी खेळपट्टीमध्ये भिन्नता वापरणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ટોનલ

અન્યથા સમાન શબ્દોના અર્થોને અલગ પાડવા માટે પિચમાં વિવિધતાઓનો ઉપયોગ કરવો

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಾದದ

ಒಂದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪದಗಳ ಅರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕಿಸಲು ಪಿಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ടോണൽ

സമാന പദങ്ങളുടെ അർത്ഥം വേർതിരിച്ചറിയാൻ പിച്ചിൽ വ്യത്യാസങ്ങൾ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਧੁਨੀ

ਹੋਰ ਸਮਾਨ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਦੇ ਅਰਥਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਪਿੱਚ ਵਿੱਚ ਭਿੰਨਤਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਗੂ ਕਰਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

ٹونل

دوسری صورت میں ملتے جلتے الفاظ کے معنی میں فرق کرنے کے لیے پچ میں تغیرات کا استعمال

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

音调

利用音高的变化来区分其他相似单词的含义

🇯🇵Japanese

色調

ピッチの変化を利用して、似ている単語の意味を区別する

🇰🇷Korean

색조

유사한 단어의 의미를 구별하기 위해 음조의 변화를 사용합니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

âm điệu

sử dụng các biến thể về cao độ để phân biệt nghĩa của các từ tương tự

🇹🇭Thai

วรรณยุกต์

ใช้การแปรผันของระดับเสียงเพื่อแยกแยะความหมายของคำที่คล้ายคลึงกัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

nada

menggunakan variasi nada untuk membedakan arti dari kata-kata yang serupa

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نغمي

استخدام الاختلافات في درجة الصوت لتمييز معاني الكلمات المشابهة

🇮🇷Persian

تونال

استفاده از تغییرات زیر و بمی برای تشخیص معانی کلمات مشابه دیگر

🇮🇱Hebrew

צְלִילִי

שימוש בווריאציות בגובה הצליל כדי להבחין במשמעויות של מילים דומות אחרת

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'tonal'?

The primary meaning of 'tonal' is 'employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'tonal' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'tonal' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'tonal' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'tonal' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'tonal' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'tonal' easy to spell?

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In your opinion, does the word 'tonal' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Which age group is most likely to use 'tonal' in regular conversations?

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How likely are you to use 'tonal' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'tonal' as formal, casual, or slang?

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Slang

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