How do you express your feelings if you are mad at someone or when you want to stop someone’s blabbering? You say “Shut up!” right?
Now there are different ways to say shut up. You can say it in a respectful, commanding, or rude manner. We can all say shut up in English and also in different ways.
However, how do you say shut up in Spanish? If you want to learning Spanish (View on Amazon) or planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country, you will want to know how to say shut up in Spanish. Don’t be concerned! We will show you different ways of saying shut up.
Ways to Say Shut Up in Spanish
You will probably want to be fluent in the new language you are learning. At least you need to know some essential words or sentences to use in daily life situations. And, shut up is one of those basic sentences. We will show you some ways to say shut up in Spanish.
Learning these expressions will help you travel in a Spanish-speaking country. But you have to be careful about the degree of formality and rudeness of these expressions. Hopefully, after reading this, you will learn how to say shut up in Spanish.
Cállate
If you want to sound more commanding, you should use Cállate. ‘Cállate’ is the Spanish form of shut up. It is a handy expression if you are ordering someone to shut up in Spanish. What if you are a teacher and you want your chaotic class to be silent? You can use ‘Cállate’ in this situation. ‘Cállate’ usually addresses one person. But the word ‘cállense’ addresses a group of people.
‘Cállate’ and ‘cállense’ are the imperative form of the verb callarse. So, others can perceive it as demanding and aggressive. If you tell someone Cállate, you are ordering that person to shut up. Here are some examples of the usage of this expression.
¡Cállate niños! estás perturbando a la clase.
(Shut up, children! You are disturbing the class.)
Oye, cállate, estoy trabajando.
(Hey, shut up, I’m working.)
Cállate y concéntrate en tus estudios.
(Shut up and focus on your studies.)
Silencio
Do you want to sound polite while saying shut up in Spanish? Sometimes we need to sound respectful while asking someone to shut up so that we don’t hurt them.
You can use ‘Silencio’ to sound polite while saying shut up in Spanish. If you don’t want to address someone, in particular, you can use it because it is appropriate for more than one person group. But you can also use it for one person. ‘Silencio’ is a very useful expression for use in classrooms and meetings. Check out some examples of how to use this expression.
¡Silencio, por favor! Permítanme terminar mi trabajo.
(Silence, please! Let me finish my work.)
Necesito silencio en esta sala.
(I need silence in this room.)
Por favor, hagan cola y guarden silencio.
(Please, stand in the line and maintain silence.)
¿Por qué no te callas?
If you are frustrated with someone, and you want them to shut up, you can use this expression. ‘¿por qué no te callas?’ means ‘why don’t you shut up?’.
People mainly use this phrase in conversations. Since it shows frustration, listeners can consider it as an aggressive phrase.
Imagine you worked hard all day to make delicious food for your partner, but your partner is continuously complaining about the food. At some point, you will be frustrated hearing the complaints, and you will want him to shut up. In this situation, you can use the expression, ‘¿por qué no te callas?’.
Here are some examples of this phrase.
Te estás quejando demasiado, ¿por qué no te callas?
(You’re complaining too much, why don’t you shut up?)
No conoces el contexto, así que ¿por qué no te callas?
(You don’t know the context, so why don’t you shut up?)
See, it sounds a bit aggressive and also shows frustration.
Cierra la boca
Sometimes we all get mad at someone, and then we tell that person to shut up in a rude manner. Suppose you want to say that in Spanish, you can use cierra la boca. It means shut your mouth.
This phrase is an informal and casual way to say shut up in Spanish. It is a very intense phrase because it shows your frustration and anger. For example, someone is spreading rumors about your friend in front of you. You will be outraged, right? You would want them to stop. You can use ‘cierra la boca’ to shut them in this situation.
Below, you can see some other examples of this phrase.
¡Nadie te está hablando, cierra la boca!
(No one is talking to you, shut your mouth!)
No es asunto tuyo, cierra la boca.
(It’s none of your business, shut your mouth.)
Guarden silencio
‘Guarden silencio’ is the most formal and polite way to say shut up in Spanish. It means ‘keep silent’ or be quiet. In formal institutions like schools, offices, and courtrooms, people use this phrase.
‘Guarden silencio’ sounds softer than shut up. You can use this phrase with your children, students, or subordinates in the office. Spanish speakers primarily use this phrase to refer to a group of people, but you can also address an individual using this expression.
Here are some ways to use ‘Guarden silencio’ in a sentence.
Señor, guarde silencio, usted está en una iglesia.
(Sir, keep silent, you are in a church.)
Por favor, guarda silencio, el bebé está durmiendo.
(Please be silent, the baby is sleeping.)
Conclusion
Learning a new language is very exciting. When you are traveling to a new country, you need to have some basic knowledge about the language of that country to communicate with the people. Otherwise, you will feel isolated because you won’t be able to communicate with the locals.
We say shut up in our daily life for various reasons. If you are going to a Spanish-speaking country or learning Spanish for other reasons, you would want to know how to say shut up in Spanish.
We tried to show you different ways of saying shut up in Spanish in this article. We hope you learned something new!
