조용히 해
joyonghi hae
To say "be quiet" in Korean, you use 조용히 해 (joyonghi hae).
This phrase is a command used to tell someone to stop making noise. If you want to soften the request and ask someone to be a little quieter, you can say 조금만 조용히 해 주세요.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adverb 조용히 (quietly) and the verb 해 (do).
Which one should you use?
While 조용히 해 is a standard informal way to say be quiet, other forms change the tone and authority of the command. 조용히 해라 is a more forceful and authoritative version often used in written instructions or by elders to children. 조용히 해 주세요 translates to "please do quietly."
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more respectful tone suitable for strangers or elders, use the polite form 조용히 하세요 or the formal version 조용히 해 주세요.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form 조용히 해라 functions as a more forceful, authoritative command.
How do you pronounce it?
joyonghi hae
Did you know?
- In highly formal settings, Koreans often avoid saying 'be quiet' directly and instead use indirect phrases that ask for 'cooperation' or 'consideration'.
- The word 조용히 is actually a way of saying 'calmly' or 'composedly' that evolved from the Sino-Korean word 종용히.
- Using the authoritative form 조용히 해라 to a stranger or a superior is considered an extreme social faux pas and can be seen as an intentional insult.
Examples in context
- 모두 조용히 해야 한다.Everybody needs to be quiet.This sentence shows how to express that everybody needs to be quiet using 조용히 해.Tatoeba #10576559 by ssuss32, translation #5788226 by CK
- 조용히 해.Be quiet.
- 조용히 해, 나 공부하고 있어.joyonghi hae, na gongbu hago isseo.Be quiet, I am studying.
- 도서관이니까 조용히 해.doseogwan-inikka joyonghi hae.It is a library, so be quiet.
Example conversation
Minjun and Minji are in a quiet study room.
- 민준 Min-jun민지야, 조용히 해.Minji-ya, joyonghi hae.Minji, be quiet.
- 민지 Min-ji미안해, 민준아. 너무 시끄러웠지?mianhae, Minjun-a. neomu sikkeureowotji?Sorry, Minjun. Was I too loud?
- 민준 Min-jun응, 조금만 조용히 해줘.eung, jogeumman joyonghi haejwo.Yes, please be a little quiet.
- 민지 Min-ji알겠어, 이제 조용히 할게.algesseo, ije joyonghi halge.Okay, I will be quiet now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 조용히, 해, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
