A free tool from Zentor

Free email tone checker

Paste an email before you send it. See how it reads to the other person, and get it back in the tone you meant.

Example email
From
you
To
[recipient]
How it reads

Reads as irritated. "As I said in my last two emails" tells the reader they are being blamed, and "Please send it today" lands as an order.

Adjusted email

Hi [name], I'm still missing the signed form, and I can't move this forward without it. Could you send it over today? If something is holding it up on your side, let me know and I'll help sort it out. Thanks, [your name]

Zentor drafts replies and follow-ups inside your Gmail, in your voice — you approve before anything sends.
  1. Paste the email
  2. Say what you meant
  3. Read both, send one

See it in action

A reminder that sounds like a threat

It's the third time you've asked for the form. You're right to be annoyed. You also still need the form.

You typed

As I said in my last two emails, I still need the signed form. I can't do anything until you send it. Please send it today.

You asked: Professional tone.

To
[recipient]
How it reads

Reads as irritated. "As I said in my last two emails" tells the reader they are being blamed, and "Please send it today" lands as an order.

Adjusted email

Hi [name], I'm still missing the signed form, and I can't move this forward without it. Could you send it over today? If something is holding it up on your side, let me know and I'll help sort it out. Thanks, [your name]

An ask buried under apologies

You're chasing an invoice and don't want to seem pushy, so the email apologises four times before it asks anything.

You typed

So sorry to bother you again, I know you're super busy and this is probably a silly question, but I was just wondering if maybe you'd had a chance to look at the invoice? No worries at all if not!

You asked: Concise tone.

To
[recipient]
How it reads

Reads as anxious. Four softeners ("so sorry", "silly question", "just wondering", "no worries at all") make the request easy to skip.

Adjusted email

Hi [name], Have you had a chance to look at the invoice? Let me know if you need anything from me to process it. Thanks, [your name]

A complaint that burns the bridge

The shipment was late and damaged, again. You want it fixed, and you may still need this supplier next month.

You typed

The last shipment was late again and half the boxes were damaged. This is unacceptable. Fix it or we'll find another supplier.

You asked: Formal tone. Keep the complaint.

To
[recipient]
How it reads

Reads as a threat. "This is unacceptable" and "or we'll find another supplier" close the conversation before the supplier can respond.

Adjusted email

Dear [name], I am writing about our most recent shipment, which arrived late and with roughly half of the boxes damaged. This is the second late delivery. Please let me know by [date] what caused the delay and the damage, and what you will change to prevent it. We will also need replacements or a credit for the damaged goods. We would like to keep working together, and we need deliveries we can rely on to do that. Regards, [your name]

Tone is easier when the draft starts out right.

Zentor drafts replies in your Gmail in your own voice, learned from how you already write to each person. You approve before anything sends, so there is less to check in the first place.

See the AI email assistant

What an email tone checker looks for

An email tone checker reads your draft the way the recipient will, without knowing what you meant. Email tone goes wrong in predictable places, and a checker looks at each of them:

  • Openers that assign blame. "As I mentioned", "per my last email", "as previously stated".
  • Softeners stacked on the ask. "Just", "sorry to bother", "no worries if not". One is polite. Four hide the request.
  • Commands without a reason. "Send it today" reads differently from "could you send it today, I'm blocked without it".
  • Absolutes. "Always", "never", "unacceptable". They invite an argument about the word instead of the problem.

The reading you get back names the phrases doing the damage, so you can see why the email feels the way it does.

Tone checker and tone changer in one step

Most tools stop at the diagnosis. Knowing an email sounds passive-aggressive is only useful if you then know how to fix it, and at 6pm with a reply overdue most people don't.

So this tone checker is also a tone changer. Alongside the reading, it returns the same email adjusted to the tone you picked: same facts, same request, different temperature. You can send the adjusted version, take one phrase from it, or decide your original was fine.

What professional email tone means in practice

"Professional" is the tone people ask for most and define least. In practice, professional email tone comes down to three habits:

  1. State the situation as a fact. "The form hasn't arrived" instead of "you still haven't sent the form".
  2. Ask for one specific thing, with a date. A clear ask is more polite than a vague one, because it can be answered.
  3. Give the reader a way to respond that isn't an apology. "If something is holding this up, tell me" keeps the thread moving.

None of this means removing the complaint. A professional email can be firm. It just can't be personal.

When to check, and when not to bother

Check the email when you wrote it annoyed, when you rewrote the first line more than twice, when it's going to someone senior or someone you've never met, or when it says no.

Don't bother for a two-line scheduling note to a colleague. Tone problems cluster in a small share of email: the reminders, refusals, complaints and apologies. Those are the ones worth thirty seconds.

Getting the tone right before you write

A checker catches problems after the draft exists. The other approach is to start from a draft that already sounds like you on a good day. Zentor's AI email assistant drafts replies inside Gmail in your voice and holds them for approval, so the email you review was never written in a bad mood.

Questions

Is the email tone checker free?

Yes, the email tone checker is free. Generate opens Zentor, where you sign in or start a free trial and the check is drafted for you.

Do I need to sign up?

Yes. Generate hands off to Zentor, where you sign in or start a free trial and the check is drafted for you.

What does the tone checker tell me?

How the email is likely to read to the recipient, in a sentence or two, with the specific phrases responsible. It then gives you the same email adjusted to the tone you chose.

Will it change what my email says?

No. The adjusted version keeps your facts, names and requests. It changes wording and order. If you were complaining, the complaint stays.

Can it tell if my email sounds rude or passive-aggressive?

Yes. Those are the most common readings it returns, along with anxious, cold and over-apologetic. It points to the phrases causing it.

Is this the same as a grammar checker?

No. A grammar checker fixes errors. A tone checker looks at how a correct sentence will be taken. "Per my last email" is grammatical and still starts a fight.

Which tone should I pick?

Professional for most work email, friendly for people you know well, formal for institutions and first contact with senior people, concise when the reader only needs the ask.

How is this different from the email rewriter?

The rewriter cleans up a rough draft. The tone checker starts by telling you how the draft reads, then adjusts it. Use the checker when the wording is fine and the feeling is off.

Is what I type private?

Keep what you paste generic where you can: names and rough details are fine, skip confidential terms and personal data. The privacy policy covers how Zentor handles data.

Let Zentor write the next one for you.

Continue in Zentor

See how it works in Gmail