schweigen
Translation
to be silent, to keep quiet, to not speak
Examples
Er schwieg die ganze Zeit.
He was silent the whole time.
Warum schweigst du?
Why are you being silent?
Er schwieg zu den Vorwürfen.
He remained silent about the accusations.
Grammar Patterns
to be silent ((about sth.)) He remained silent about the accusations.
to keep quiet Why are you being silent?
Similar Words
Synonyms: still sein, nichts sagen; Antonyms: reden, sprechen
Etymology
Derived from Old High German 'swīgen'. It is cognate with the Dutch word 'zwijgen'.
Memory Tips
Think of the 'sh' sound in 'schweigen' as the 'shhh' sound for 'be quiet'.