vocal cords

English

Alternative forms

• vocal chords (nonstandard)

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

vocal cords pl (plural only)

1. (chiefly in the plural) Two folds of tissue located in the larynx that vibrate when air passes over them, producing the sound waves associated with talking and singing.

Usage notes

• The singular vocal cord is rare

Translations

folds of tissue

• Arabic: اَوْتَار صَوْتِيَّة f pl (awtār ṣawtiyya), أَحْبَال صَوْتِيَّة f pl (ʔaḥbāl ṣawtiyya)

  Egyptian Arabic: احبال صوتية f pl (aḥbāl ṣawṭeya)

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 聲帶／声带 (seng¹ daai³)

  Hokkien: 聲帶／声带 (zh-min-nan) (siaⁿ-tòa)

  Mandarin: 聲帶／声带 (zh) (shēngdài)

• Czech: hlasivky (cs) f pl
• Dutch: stembanden (nl) m pl
• Esperanto: voĉkordoj pl
• Finnish: äänihuulet pl
• French: cordes vocales (fr) f pl
• Galician: cordas vocais f pl
• German: Stimmbänder (de) n pl
• Greek: φωνητικές χορδές (el) f pl (fonitikés chordés)
• Greenlandic: nipiliuut
• Ido: vocala kordi
• Irish: téada an ghutha f pl
• Italian: corde vocali f pl
• Japanese: 声帯 (ja) (せいたい, seitai)
• Korean: 성대(聲帶) (ko) (seongdae)
• Latvian: balss saites
• Malay: pita suara
• Okinawan: 喉弦 (ぬーでぃーじる, nūdījiru)
• Polish: struny głosowe f pl
• Portuguese: cordas vocais f pl
• Romanian: coarde vocale f pl
• Russian: голосовы́е свя́зки f pl (golosovýje svjázki)
• Spanish: cuerdas vocales f
• Swedish: stämband (sv) n
• Tagalog: tinigang-bagting, babagtingang tinig
• Ukrainian: голосові́ зв'я́зки f pl (holosoví zvʺjázky)

References

• Oxford University Press article