One look at the Italian word silenzioso and you can easily guess that it means quiet or silent in English.
Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on the subject’s gender and number.
- silenzioso = masculine, singular
- silenziosa = feminine, singular
- silenziosi = masculine, plural
- silenziose = feminine, plural
Mi piace lavorare in questa stanza perché è molto silenziosa.
I like working in this room because it is very quiet.
When talking about people, silenzioso can either be a compliment or a criticism depending on whether you are referring to the person’s inherent character or their actual behaviour. For example, the following phrase can easily be interpreted as a criticism of the boy’s temperament.
Quel ragazzo è molto silenzioso. Non parla mai.
That boy is very quiet. He never speaks.
The second phrase, on the other hand, is complimenting the woman’s discreet behaviour.
Maria è la vicina di casa ideale. È molto silenziosa, soprattutto di sera.
Maria is the ideal neighbour. She’s very quiet, especially in the evening.
Some important words related to silenzioso include:
- silenzio = silence, quiet (noun)
- silenziosamente = silently, quietly
- silenziare = to silence
- silenziatore = silencer, muffler (on a car)
- silenziosità = noiselessness
Those who carry around a smartphone may choose to put it into modalità silenzioso (silent mode) when attending a meeting or while watching a movie at the cinema so as not to disturb other people.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
