taci
[tat͡ʃʲ]
In Romanian, the phrase "be quiet" is expressed as taci.
The phrase is an imperative used to tell someone to stop talking.
What does it mean word for word?
The word taci is the second-person singular imperative form of the infinitive verb a tăce, which means to be quiet or to be silent.
Which one should you use?
Use taci when speaking to one person informally. If you are speaking to multiple people, or if you wish to use a polite or formal tone, use tăceți.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
taci is an informal way to say "Be quiet!" or "Shut up!" To sound significantly more polite and less aggressive when using the formal/plural form, you can say Tăceți, vă rog! (Be quiet, please!).
How does it change in a sentence?
The second-person singular imperative is taci, while the plural or polite imperative form is tăceți.
Did you know?
- If a Romanian parent wants to tell a child to be quiet very sternly without using the word taci, they might say Gura la lacăt! (Mouth on a padlock!).
- In a humorous or ironic context, Romanians might say taci dracu to express extreme frustration, though it is considered vulgar as it mentions the 'devil'.
- The word tăcere (silence) is often personified in Romanian literature as a character that can actually 'arrive' or 'leave'.
Examples in context
- Taci, altfel ne va prinde profa!Be quiet, otherwise the teacher will catch us!This sentence shows how to use taci to avoid being caught by a teacher.Tatoeba #13931851 by Ioan_Cristian, translation #13931844 by Ioan_Cristian
- Taci când vorbesc eu.Be quiet while I am speaking.This sentence uses taci to demand silence while the speaker is talking.Tatoeba #3241547 by Ewan2, translation #247138 by CK
- Taci puțin, te rog.Be quiet a little, please.
Example conversation
Elena and Andrei are in a library.
- ElenaAndrei, taci! Suntem în bibliotecă.Andrei, be quiet! We are in the library.
- AndreiScuze, am uitat unde eram.Sorry, I forgot where I was.
- ElenaVa trebui să fim foarte silențioși.We will have to be very quiet.
- AndreiBine, nu mai spun nimic.Fine, I won't say anything anymore.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry taci, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
