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Klangfarbe

timbre

noun KLANG-far-buh Rare
Arts & Culture Music

Origin: from Klang (sound) + Farbe (colour)

Also means

tone colour

Usage Note

Klangfarbe, literally sound-colour, is the German term for timbre, the quality that lets you tell an oboe from a violin at the same pitch. It is widely used in both music and acoustics.

Examples

"Jedes Instrument hat seine eigene Klangfarbe."

Natural Translation

Each instrument has its own timbre.

Literal Translation

Each instrument has its own sound-colour.

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