How to say “quiet” in Japanese
Japanese people would use the word, “shizuka”. It is the Japanese word for ‘quiet’. In this blog post, I will explain this word based on its original adjective, “shizukana”. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!Contents
- Definition and meanings of “shizuka”
- Example #1: how to say “quiet” in Japanese
- Example #2: how to use “shizukana”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “shizuka”
First of all, let me start with the definition and meanings of “shizuka”.- shizuka – 静か (しずか) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “shizukana”, which means ‘quiet’, ‘silent’, or ‘calm’ in Japanese.
- shizuka – 静か (しずか) : an abbreviated form of “shizukana”, meaning ‘quiet’, ‘silent’, or ‘calm’ in Japanese.
Example #1: how to say “quiet” in Japanese
kyou wa totemo shizuka desu – 今日はとても静かです (きょうはとてもしずかです)
It is very quiet today.
It is very quiet today.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. Learn more about “kyou“.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the noun, “kyou”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
- totemo – とても : an adverb meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, or ‘so’ in Japanese. In the example, it is put before “shizuka” to emphasize its meaning.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, it is put after “shizuka” to make it sound polite.
Next, then, let me explain how to use the original na-adjective, “shizukana”, through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to use “shizukana”
kanojo wa totemo shizukana hito desu – 彼女はとても静かな人です (かのじょはとてもしずかなひとです)
She is a very quiet person.
She is a very quiet person.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- shizukana – 静かな (しずかな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘quiet’, ‘silent’, or ‘calm’ in Japanese.
- hito – 人 (ひと) : a noun meaning ‘person’ in Japanese. Learn more about “hito“.
This example sentence can be paraphrased with “shizuka” as follows.
kanojo wa totemo shizuka desu – 彼女はとても静かです (かのじょはとてもしずかです)
She is very quiet.
She is very quiet.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “shizuka”, based on its original na-adjective, “shizukana”. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.- shizuka – 静か (しずか) : an abbreviated form of “shizukana”, meaning ‘quiet’, ‘silent’, or ‘calm’ in Japanese. Japanese people often use this word instead of its original na-adjective especially in conversations. When it is put before a noun, it should be changed back to its original na-adjective in order to have a better connection with its following word.
- shizukana – 静かな (しずかな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘quiet’, ‘silent’, or ‘calm’ in Japanese. Japanese people quite often omit the conjugative suffix, “na”, and use the abbreviated form instead especially in conversations.
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