ciúin
/cuːnʲ/
The Irish word for quiet is ciúin.
ciúin is an adjective used to describe someone or something that makes little sound, such as a quiet person or quiet music. If you want to refer to the abstract state of silence itself, you should use the noun ciúnas.
Meaning: with little sound (adj)
Which one should you use?
ciúin is the adjective used to describe a noun, whereas ciúnas is the noun referring to the absence of sound.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective ciúin is invariant in gender and number when it follows a noun. This means the form remains the same whether it is describing a masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/cuːnʲ/
Did you know?
- While 'Bí ciúin' is the standard command, in certain Irish dialects, a person might use 'Dún do bhéal' which translates literally to 'Shut your mouth' to demand silence.
- In Irish poetry, 'ciúin' is often used metaphorically to describe a landscape that is 'quiet' or 'still', suggesting a lack of movement rather than just a lack of noise.
- While ciúin refers to sound, the word ciúin can also describe a 'quiet' or 'still' day in weather, similar to how English uses 'calm'.
Examples in context
- Is fearr léi ceol ciúin.She prefers quiet music.This sentence shows how to use ciúin to describe music.Tatoeba #4606559 by Choctaw_Irish, translation #315384 by CK
- Bí ciúin.Be quiet.This sentence shows the standard way to use the imperative Bí ciúin to tell someone to be quiet.Tatoeba #7801551 by eo_as, translation #1275396 by jakov
- Fan siar anois, a Mháirtín.Stay quiet now, Martin.
- Tá an córas ciúin anois.The system is quiet now.
Example conversation
Saoirse and Cathal are in a library.
- SaoirseAn bhfuil an leabharlann ciúin inniu?Is the library quiet today?
- CathalTá, tá sé an-chiúin.Yes, it is very quiet.
- SaoirseIs maith sin, tá mé ag léamh.That is good, I am reading.
- CathalBímid ciúin ansin, Saoirse.Let's be quiet in there, Saoirse.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “quiet” translations and entries ciúin, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
