Key Facts
- Hangul: 조용하다 (joyonghada)
- Meaning: quiet
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 조용하
- Conjugation class: 하다 type
- Grammar: 이/가 marks the quiet place or person; 은/는 can make it the topic, as in 도서관은 조용해요.
- Usage: To ask for quiet, use the adverb: 조용히 해 주세요, not the adjective.
What Does 조용하다 Mean?
조용하다 describes a place with little noise, such as 조용한 방, or a person who is quiet by nature. It states a condition rather than an action.
The adverb 조용히 means quietly. Learners often swap the adjective and the adverb, which is why the standard request for silence uses the adverb: 조용히 해 주세요.
How Do You Pronounce 조용하다?
The word is read as it is written: [조용하다]. In 조용해요, 하 + 여 contracts to 해. The spelling still includes ㅎ in 해; this is a vowel contraction, not the loss of the consonant. 조용했어요 adds the past marker ㅆ.
How Do You Use 조용하다 in a Sentence?
도서관은 조용해요.
The library is quiet.
도서관은 is the topic, and 조용해요 states a general fact about it.
조용한 카페를 찾아요.
I'm looking for a quiet cafe.
조용한 comes before 카페를, and 찾아요 says the speaker is looking for one.
밤에는 동네가 조용했어요.
At night the neighborhood was quiet.
밤에는 sets the time, and 동네가 조용했어요 puts the quiet in the past.
Places dominate these examples: a library, a cafe and a neighbourhood, described with 조용해요, 조용한 and the past 조용했어요.
How Does Joyonghada Conjugation Work?
조용하다 is a 하다 adjective, so 하 + 여 contracts to 해: 조용해요 and 조용했어요. The modifier is 조용한. The honorific 조용하세요 strictly describes a respected person as quiet. You will hear it used as a request, but the standard polite request is 조용히 하세요 or 조용히 해 주세요.
To say something is not quiet, put 안 in front for 안 조용해요 or use the long negative 조용하지 않아요. The because-form is 조용해서, the if-form 조용하면, and the modifiers are 조용한 (now), 조용했던 (earlier) and 조용할 (later); the honorific polite form is 조용하세요.
조용하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 조용해요 | ||
| Polite past | 조용했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 조용할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 조용하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 조용합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 조용했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 조용할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 조용해 | ||
| Casual past | 조용했어 | ||
| Casual future | 조용할 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 조용하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 조용해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 조용하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 조용한 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 조용했던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 조용할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 조용해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 조용하지 않아요 |
No want-to row: -고 싶다 suits verbs.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 조용했어요 | [조용해써요] |
| Polite future | 조용할 거예요 | [조용할꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 조용하겠어요 | [조용하게써요] |
| Formal present | 조용합니다 | [조용함니다] |
| Formal past | 조용했습니다 | [조용핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 조용할 것입니다 | [조용할꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 조용했어 | [조용해써] |
| Casual future | 조용할 거야 | [조용할꺼야] |
| Past modifier | 조용했던 | [조용핻떤] |
| Long negative | 조용하지 않아요 | [조용하지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 조용해세요 (to ask for quiet)
Correct: ✓ 조용히 하세요
Why: To tell someone to be quiet, use the adverb 조용히 with 하다. The adjective form says the person is quiet, which is not a request.
Adjective or Adverb?
Use 조용하다 to describe a state and 조용히 to ask for or describe a manner. 고요하다 is the more literary cousin for a stillness, such as a lake at dawn. Its opposite, 시끄럽다, is equally common.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 조용하다?
| Word | How to tell it from 조용하다 |
|---|---|
| 시끄럽다 | 시끄럽다 is the opposite, noisy. |
| 고요하다 | 고요하다 is more literary: stillness and silence, like a lake at dawn. |
Choosing a Cafe for Studying
Two friends want somewhere they can concentrate. The conversation compares today’s cafe with its atmosphere yesterday.
Mina
여기 조용해요?
Yeogi joyonghaeyo?
Is it quiet here?
Jun
네. 어제도 조용했어요.
Ne. Eojedo joyonghaesseoyo.
Yes. It was quiet yesterday too.
Mina
조용한 카페가 좋아요.
Joyonghan kapega joayo.
I like quiet cafes.
Jun
그럼 여기서 공부해요.
Geureom yeogiseo gongbuhaeyo.
Then let’s study here.
The dialogue uses 조용해요 as a question, 조용했어요 for an earlier visit, and 조용한 before 카페. The last line proposes studying because the place suits their purpose. Quiet is a feature of the atmosphere, not a guarantee that nobody else is there.
Which Quiet Phrases Mean More than Silence?
조용한 동네 is “a quiet neighborhood”. It suggests little disturbance, perhaps especially at night. 조용한 사람 is “a quiet person”, someone who does not speak much. The adjective alone does not say that the person is unfriendly, shy or unhappy.
조용히 이야기하다 means “to talk quietly”. This still involves talking: the adverb describes the manner or volume. 조용히 기다리다 means “to wait quietly”, without creating a disturbance. Depending on the scene, that may involve staying calm as well as keeping the noise down.
조용히 넘어가다 can mean that a matter passes without a fuss. The point is that it does not develop into a noisy dispute or public issue. In a drama about a family problem, it may concern keeping the matter low-key rather than physically moving somewhere without sound.
조용한 주말 means “a quiet weekend”. The speaker might have stayed home with a book or avoided a busy schedule. This use describes a peaceful, uneventful time. You do not need to imagine a whole weekend with no audible sound.
How Can You Ask for Quiet without Sounding Sharp?
조용히 해 주세요 asks someone to keep the noise down. It combines 조용히, “quietly”, with a request to do so. A librarian can use it as a general reminder. Even with a polite ending, a forceful tone can sound like a reprimand, so volume and context matter.
조용히 해 is much more direct. Parents or close friends may use it, but from a stranger it can feel abrupt. A sudden shouted 조용히! is an order. Recognizing the adverb in all three helps you hear the shared request beneath the different endings.
도서관, libraries, and study rooms are natural places to encounter requests for quiet. In reviews of hotels or apartments, 조용해요 evaluates the environment. A review can praise quiet surroundings while mentioning road noise at another time, so look for a time expression such as 밤에는.
Why Do 조용한 and 조용히 Behave Differently?
조용한 goes directly before a noun: 조용한 방, “a quiet room”. 조용히 goes before an action such as talking or waiting. If the room is the thing you describe, choose the adjective form. If a person’s way of acting is the focus, choose the adverb.
The adjective uses 한 before nouns, unlike an action verb’s 하는. The presence of 하다 in the dictionary form does not make every word an action verb. 조용하다 describes a state, so 조용한 카페 is the useful pattern to remember.
The future 조용할 거예요 predicts a quiet condition. It does not mean the cafe is planning to lower its voice. Likewise, 조용하세요 in the table can describe a respected person, but 조용히 하세요 gives a clear instruction. The added 하다 after the adverb turns the wording toward someone’s behavior.
There is no special honorific replacement for 조용하다. To describe a place politely, 조용해요 or 조용합니다 is enough. An inanimate room does not need subject honorific 시 merely because the listener is older than you.
Words for Describing a Quiet Person or Place
| Korean | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 성격 | personality | Helps make a description about character rather than today’s mood. |
| 말수 | amount of talking | 말수가 적다 describes someone who speaks little. |
| 소음 | unwanted noise | A useful noun when discussing a room or neighborhood. |
| 시끄럽다 | noisy | Describes the opposite of a quiet environment. |
The personality vocabulary lesson teaches 성격 and descriptions of reserved and outgoing people. A person’s usual character is broader than the noise level in one conversation.
Mini Drill: Description or Manner?
- Complete “a quiet room”: ____ 방.
- Choose the adverb for “talk quietly”: 조용한 or 조용히.
- Say “It was quiet” in the polite past.
- Complete a polite request: 조용히 해 ____.
Show quiet-language drill answers
- 조용한 방.
- 조용히: 조용히 이야기하다.
- 조용했어요.
- 조용히 해 주세요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 조용한 사람 necessarily mean an unfriendly person?
- Can people talk while doing something 조용히?
- Does a 조용한 주말 require total silence?
Show answers
- No. It describes someone quiet, without explaining why.
- Yes. They can talk quietly rather than loudly.
- No. It can mean a peaceful weekend without much activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Ask Someone to Be Quiet?
조용히 해 주세요, using the adverb 조용히.
What Is the Difference between 조용하다 and 조용히?
The first is an adjective for a state; the second is an adverb for manner.
What Is the Polite Present?
조용해요.
How Do I Say a Quiet Cafe?
조용한 카페.
Which Words Are Related to 조용하다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 시끄럽다 as the opposite, then 편하다 for ease. For the 하 to 해 contraction in detail, read how 하다 becomes 해요. The Korean verb conjugator will show any form of 조용하다 you need, and the Korean verb dictionary has the rest of the sound and noise words.