Inklingo

How to Say "quietly" in Spanish

The most common Spanish word forquietlyis tranquilamenteuse 'tranquilamente' when describing someone or something acting or existing without making noise, disturbance, or commotion in a general sense..

English → Spanish

tranquilamente

/trahn-kee-lah-MEN-teh//tɾaŋ.ki.laˈmen.te/

adverbA2general
Use 'tranquilamente' when describing someone or something acting or existing without making noise, disturbance, or commotion in a general sense.
A person sitting on a wooden dock by a still lake, fishing with a simple rod under a clear sky.

Examples

El niño juega tranquilamente en su habitación.

The child plays quietly in his room.

El gato duerme tranquilamente en el sofá.

The cat sleeps peacefully on the sofa.

Hablamos tranquilamente sobre el problema.

We spoke calmly about the problem.

Puedes esperar aquí tranquilamente.

You can wait here quietly/without worry.

The '-mente' ending

In Spanish, adding '-mente' to the feminine form of an adjective is just like adding '-ly' in English to describe how an action is done.

Placement in the sentence

Mistake:Tranquilamente yo camino.

Correction: Camino tranquilamente.

piano

/pee-AH-noh//ˈpja.no/

adverbB2musical
Use 'piano' specifically as a musical instruction to indicate that a passage should be played softly or quietly.
A small, delicate, pale blue sound wave floating gently across a quiet, muted background, symbolizing soft volume.

Examples

El director pidió que la orquesta tocara piano en esa sección.

The conductor asked the orchestra to play quietly in that section.

El violín debe entrar piano en el compás dieciséis.

The violin must enter softly (quietly) at measure sixteen.

La partitura indica que esa sección se toca 'piano, piano', es decir, muy suave.

The score indicates that that section is played 'piano, piano,' meaning very softly.

Dynamic Markings

In music, 'piano' means 'soft.' It comes from the full name of the instrument: the 'pianoforte,' which means 'soft-loud,' referring to the instrument's ability to play both.

Confusing Musical vs. General Quietness

Learners often mistakenly use 'piano' in everyday situations when they mean 'tranquilamente'. Remember that 'piano' is almost exclusively used in a musical context to mean 'softly', while 'tranquilamente' is the general term for acting without noise or fuss.

Learn Spanish with Inklingo

Interactive stories, personalized learning, and more.