silencio, por favor
/siˈlenθjo poɾ faˈboɾ/word by word
The English phrase "shush, please" can be translated into Spanish as silencio, por favor.
Silencio, por favor is a common way to say "silence, please". You can also use the single-word exclamation ¡Silencio! to command silence, which is similar to saying "Quiet!" in English.
Which one should you use?
Silencio, por favor is a polite request for quiet, whereas ¡Cállate! is a much more aggressive and rude command to shut up.
Did you know?
- To ask for silence in a more idiomatic way, Spaniards might say estamos en una biblioteca, meaning 'we are in a library', even if they are not actually in one.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if you want to tell a group of people to be quiet, you might say ¡Chitón! instead of using the word silencio.
- The phrase guardar silencio is used to mean 'to keep quiet', treating silence as something that can be 'guarded' or 'kept' like a physical object.
Examples in context
- Por favor, habla más bajo. Estamos en una biblioteca.Please speak more softly. We are in a library.
- Shh, por favor. El bebé está durmiendo.Shh, please. The baby is sleeping.
- Silencio, por favor, que estoy leyendo.Shush, please, I am reading.
- Silencio, por favor, la película va a empezar.Shush, please, the movie is about to start.
- Necesito silencio, por favor, para estudiar.I need silence, please, to study.
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are in a library.
- ElenaAlejandro, silencio, por favor.Alejandro, shush, please.
- AlejandroLo siento, estaba hablando muy fuerte.I'm sorry, I was talking too loud.
- ElenaAquí tenemos que estar callados.We have to be quiet in here.
- AlejandroTienes razón, no diré nada más.You're right, I won't say anything else.
