schweigen
to be silent
To say nothing; to be quiet and not speak.
EXAMPLE
Als der Chef den Raum betrat, schwiegen plötzlich alle.
When the boss entered the room, everyone suddenly fell silent.
schweigen
to be silent
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Meanings
schweigen
to remain silent
To deliberately not speak about a particular topic or piece of knowledge in order to keep it secret or refuse to make a statement.
EXAMPLE
Der Angeklagte schwieg zu allen Vorwürfen.
The defendant remained silent about all the accusations.
schweigen
to fall silent
In a figurative sense: to stop being active or making noise.
EXAMPLE
Nach dem Waffenstillstand schwiegen endlich die Kanonen.
After the ceasefire, the cannons finally fell silent.
Usage tips
Strong verb
'Schweigen' (to be silent) is a strong verb. The principal parts are 'schweigen – schwieg – hat geschwiegen' (to be silent – was silent – has been silent). Pay special attention to the past forms, which are often formed incorrectly.
EXAMPLE
Er schwieg den ganzen Abend.
He was silent the whole evening.
Word family
'Schweigen' (to be silent) is the basis for other important words. 'Das Schweigen' (silence) is the noun. The verb 'verschweigen' means to intentionally not say something.
EXAMPLE
Sein langes Schweigen machte mich nervös.
His long silence made me nervous.
Sentence structure: schweigen zu
When someone deliberately says nothing about a particular topic, you use the structure 'schweigen zu' (to remain silent about) + dative. This is typical for official statements, e.g. in politics or in court.
EXAMPLE
Der Politiker schwieg zu den Gerüchten.
The politician remained silent about the rumors.
Figurative meaning
The figurative meaning 'aufhören, aktiv zu sein' (to stop being active) is often used in a poetic or journalistic style. A well-known example is 'die Waffen schweigen' (the weapons fall silent), which means that a war or battle ends.
EXAMPLE
Alle hoffen, dass die Waffen bald schweigen.
Everyone hopes that the weapons will soon fall silent.
Compare with
schweigen vs Ruhe
quiet / calm
Ruhe refers to a state without disturbing sounds. Schweigen, on the other hand, describes one or more people saying nothing. If nobody speaks after a question, this Schweigen can contribute to the Ruhe in the room.
schweigen
Nach der Frage schwiegen alle Personen im Raum.
After the question, everyone in the room fell silent.
Ruhe
Nach der Frage herrschte im ganzen Raum völlige Ruhe.
After the question, the entire room was completely quiet.
In real life
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