sotto voce

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sotto voce

/ˌsɒtəʊ ˈvəʊtʃeɪ/ UK
/ˌsɑtoʊ ˈvoʊtʃi/ US
/-tʃeɪ/ US

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Italian sottovoce (literally “under [the] voice”).

adjective

not comparable, of a voice, of speech In soft tones; quiet. Then a man called for her, and began to make coarse jokes. But Mr. Pappleworth nodded his head in the direction of the boy, and the talk went on sotto voce.
not comparable Soft, instruments or voice.
Similar: sotto

adverb

not comparable, of a voice, of speech Quietly. "I am not your dear; I cannot lie down. Send me to school soon, Mrs. Reed, for I hate to live here." I will indeed send her to school soon," murmured Mrs. Reed sotto voce; and gathering up her work, she abruptly quitted the apartment.
not comparable Sung or played softly, instruments or voice.
Similar: sotto

noun sotto voci

A direction in a score that a passage in a piece should be played softly, or sung in a low voice, when applied to vocal music.

Translations

Every language

adv quietly (of speech)

Español	en voz baja
日本語	小さな声で chīsana koe de
Français	à mi-voix, tout bas
Italiano	sottovoce, sotto voce, a bassa voce, piano
Русский	вполго́лоса vpolgólosa, ти́хо tíxo

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MLA

"sotto voce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sotto%20voce. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sotto voce. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sotto%20voce

Chicago

"sotto voce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sotto%20voce.

BibTeX

@misc{sotto_voce_2026,
  title = {sotto voce},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sotto%20voce},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}