What characters really mean beneath the words they actually say - the unspoken tension, desire, or conflict hiding under the surface.
Subtext in dialogue is the gap between what a character says and what they actually mean. Real people rarely say exactly what they feel, and your characters shouldn't either. When two characters argue about whose turn it is to do the dishes, they might really be fighting about power, respect, or feeling taken for granted. That deeper layer - the one neither character names out loud - is the subtext, and it's where dialogue gets its emotional charge.
Dialogue without subtext reads like a script where every character announces their feelings. 'I'm angry because you lied to me' is information, not drama. But 'You know what, don't even worry about it' - said by someone who is clearly worrying about it - pulls readers in because they have to do the work of reading between the lines. Subtext respects your reader's intelligence and makes scenes feel layered and alive.
The entire story is subtext. A couple discusses an 'operation' without ever saying the word abortion, and their evasions reveal everything about their relationship and their fear.
Darcy's first proposal is technically a declaration of love, but the subtext is pure snobbery - he spends more time explaining why he shouldn't love Elizabeth than expressing that he does.
Frank and April Wheeler's conversations about moving to Paris are never really about Paris. They're about escape, identity, and the slow death of their dreams.
Before writing a line of dialogue, ask: what does this character want to say but won't? Write around that unsaid thing instead of stating it directly.
Give readers at least one anchor - an action beat, a context clue, or a telling reaction from another character - that signals something deeper is happening.
Trust your reader. If the dialogue and context are doing their job, you don't need a narrator footnote explaining what really happened.
Write a scene between two old friends having coffee. One has just found out the other has been talking behind their back, but they never bring it up directly. Let the betrayal come through only in word choice, pauses, and what they choose to talk about instead. Aim for 300 words where the real conversation happens entirely below the surface.