silenzio
/siˈlɛn.t͡sjo/masculine
The English word 'silence' is silenzio in Italian.
The noun silenzio refers to a lack of sound. You can use it as a command, Silenzio!, to demand that others be quiet. To describe an action being performed without making noise, use the prepositional phrase in silenzio.
Meaning: lack of sound (noun)
Which one should you use?
While silenzio is the noun for silence, silenzioso is the adjective used to describe something that is silent. When choosing a verb to mean 'to silence' or 'to make something silent', silenziare is a standard choice, whereas azzittire is much more aggressive and informal, often used when telling someone to shut up.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word silenzio is a masculine noun. To describe an attribute of a person or thing, use the adjective silenzioso.
How do you pronounce it?
/siˈlɛn.tsjo/. The word has 3 syllables, and the stress is on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- In Italian, the phrase fare silenzio literally means 'to make silence', but it is used where English speakers would say 'to be quiet'.
- In Italian music notation, the term silenzio is used to indicate a rest, treating the absence of sound as a structural element of the composition.
- While silenzio is the noun, Italians often use the expression stare zitti to tell people to be silent, which literally means 'to stay mute'.
Examples in context
- Il silenzio è d'oro.Silence is golden.This sentence illustrates the proverb that silence is golden using silenzio.Tatoeba #762943 by Guybrush88, translation #762939 by U2FS
- Il silenzio è forza.Silence is strength.This sentence expresses the idea that silence is strength using silenzio.Tatoeba #5825969 by Guybrush88, translation #4711506 by Muelisto
- Lo seguì in silenzio.He followed him in silence.This sentence shows how to describe an action performed without noise using silenzio.Tatoeba #11720003 by Nuel, translation #11720001 by Nuel
- Per favore, mantenete il silenzio durante l'esame.Please, maintain silence during the exam.
- Non tacere di fronte all'ingiustizia.Do not keep silent in the face of injustice.
- Zitto! Ho bisogno di concentrarmi.Shush! I need to concentrate.
- 155 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Martina are in a library.
- AlessandroMartina, per favore, mantieni il silenzio.Martina, please, keep quiet.
- MartinaScusa Alessandro, non volevo disturbare.Sorry Alessandro, I didn't mean to disturb.
- AlessandroIl silenzio è necessario per studiare.Silence is necessary for studying.
- MartinaHai ragione, sarò più attenta.You're right, I'll be more careful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “silence” translations and entries silenzio, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
