话头 (huà tóu) — topic or thread of a conversation; (less common) tone of voice

Definition

话头 (huàtóu) is a less common, somewhat literary word for the 'thread or topic' of a conversation. The second sense ('tone of voice') is rare and idiom-bound — heard mostly in fixed expressions like 从…话头里.

noun
topic or thread of a conversation(less common) tone of voice

Examples

  • 话头
    Tā huà tóu yì zhuǎn, kāi shǐ liáo qǐ le bié de shì qing.
    He changed the topic and started talking about something else.
  • Wǒ men de huà tóu bèi tū rú qí lái de diàn huà dǎ duàn le.
    Our conversation thread was interrupted by a sudden phone call.
  • Cóng tā de huà tóu lǐ, wǒ néng tīng chū tā yǒu xiē bù gāo xìng.
    From his tone of voice, I could tell he was a bit unhappy.

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