Zitto
ADJECTIVE
Meaning and English translation 🔖
Quiet, silent
🇬🇧 That doesn't speak, doesn't make noise, doesn't talk.
🇮🇹 Che tace, non fa rumore, non parla.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Zitto | Zitta |
| Plural | Zitti | Zitte |
Example sentences 💬
Zitto! Sta per cominciare il concerto.
Quiet! The concert is about to begin.
È stata sempre zitta durante tutta la serata.
She remained silent throughout the entire evening.
"State zitti!", sussurrò la mamma, "il bambino sta dormendo."
"Be quiet!", whispered the mom, "the baby is sleeping."
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Idioms with zitto 🇮🇹
Stare zitto
→ To keep quiet
Se non sai rispondere, è meglio che tu stia zitto.
If you don't know how to answer, it's better to keep quiet.
Far stare zitto
→ To shut someone up
Ci penso io a farlo star zitto.
I'll take care of shutting him up.
NB: you can also you the verb zittire
Zitto zitto
→ Quietly, discreetly
Se ne è andato via zitto zitto, senza neppure salutare.
He left quietly, without even saying goodbye.
Zitto zitto, quatto quatto
→ Quietly and stealthily
Zitta zitta, quatta quatta, Maria entrò in cucina a mezzanotte per rubare l'ultimo pezzo di torta.
Quietly and stealthily, Maria entered the kitchen at midnight to steal the last piece of cake.
Non saper stare zitto
→ Not to be able to keep a secret (literal: not to be not able to shut up)
Non dirle nulla, non sa stare zitta.
Don't tell her anything, she can't keep a secret.
Zitto e mosca
→ Mum's the word / Keep it under your hat (literal: quiet and a fly 🪰)
Zitto e mosca su quello che ti ho detto, è un segreto.
Mum's the word about what I told you, it's a secret.
Where does the word zitto come from? 🔎
Zitto was born in the 1500s and is an onomatopoeia. This means that the sound of the word imitates what it describes.
Let's try to pronounce "zitto" slowly:
- It starts with a 'z' sound that blocks the air for a moment.
- Then there's a short 'i'.
- It's followed by a double 't' that stops the sound again.
- Finally, it opens with an 'o'.
If we think about it, when we tell someone to be quiet, we make these exact sounds: first, we block the air (as if to stop talking), then we let it out a little, and finally, we open our mouth.
So, the way we pronounce "zitto" imitates the action of stopping speech. It's as if the word itself shows us how to be silent!
