Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "quietly" in Russian

This Russian word is one of the top 1000 words in Russian. The complete list of most common Russian words is available here.

тихо

Meaning: quietly, silently

Pronunciation: [TEE-khah]

Part of speech: adverb

Rank: #428 (see frequency list)

Silence, please! Exam in progress!
Photo by shawnzrossi CC-BY-2.0

Example sentences:

Ти́хо! Идёт экза́мен!
Silence, please! Exam in progress!
literal Siletly! Exam is going!
Ма́ма всегда́ говори́ла о́чень ти́хо.
Mum's always spoken in a low voice.
literal Mum's always spoken quietly.
Вдруг кто́-то ти́хо постуча́л в дверь.
Suddenly somebody knocked gently at the door.
literal Suddenly somebody quietly knocked at the door.
Сиди́ ти́хо, не дви́гайся. Я посмотрю́, кто э́то.
Keep silence, don't move. I'll check who it is.
literal Sit quietly, don't move. I'll look who it is.
В осе́ннем лесу́ бы́ло ти́хо.
It was quiet in the autumn forest.
У нас всë ти́хо, без собы́тий.
Our life is peaceful, without any events.
literal We have everything so quiet, without events.
Снача́ла на у́лице бы́ло ти́хо, но по́том поднялся ве́тер.
First it was calm on the street, but then the wind started blowing.
literal First it was calm on the street, but then the wind woke up.
По́езд е́хал ти́хо.
The train was moving slowly.
literal The train was moving quietly.
Как идёт би́знес? Всë ти́хо!
How is the business going? Things are slack.
literal How is the business going? Everything is calm.
На се́рдце ти́хо, на душé спокóйно.
I have a calm heart and a tranquil soul.
literal It's silent in my heart and it's calm in my soul.

Idioms and set expressions:

ти́хо! = silence, please, be careful
literal quietly!
ста́ло ти́хо = the noise stopped
literal it became calm
вeсти́ себя́ ти́хо = to behave quietly

Related words:

споко́йно = quietly, calmly
тишина́ = silence
ти́хий = calm, quiet

Proverbs and sayings:

Ти́ше е́дешь - да́льше бу́дешь.
Slow but sure.
literal Ride slower, get further.
Бу́дет ти́хо - бу́дет и ли́хо.
Some periods are calm, but other are turbulent.
Лу́чше ти́хо да вперёд, чем ско́ро да по́том наза́д.
It's better to go forward slowly than first to go fast and then come back.

Vocabulary lesson: By Russificate blog exclusively for MasterRussian

Phrase recordings: Copyright(c) 2011 MasterRussian.com. All rights reserved.
Word recordings: Copyright(c) 2006 Streit Goulnara, Streit Eric, Vion Nicolas. Copyright(c) 2007 S. Sakhno, N. Vion. Distributed under CC-BY.

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