verb
to be silent, to keep quiet
B1
Means 'to be silent' or 'to keep quiet'. It's a strong, irregular verb (Präteritum: schwieg; Partizip II: geschwiegen) that uses the auxiliary haben. Non‑reflexive and usually intransitive. Can take prepositions like 'über' (schweigen über etwas) to mean remaining silent about something.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Ich schweige.
I'm keeping silent.
Die Klasse begann zu schweigen, als der Lehrer den Raum betrat.
The class fell silent when the teacher entered the room.
Alle schweigen, wenn der Chef kommt.
Everyone is silent when the boss comes.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture lips zipped together or a finger to the lips
Sounds like 'shy-vine' — imagine someone whispering 'shh' quietly
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
schweigen is an intransitive verb (usually no direct object). Common collocation: 'schweigen zu' (on a topic) or 'selbsts Schweigen brechen'. | Intransitive verb; passive voice forms are not applicable.