Learn Hardcore French: Je m'habitue au silence de la campagne. - I am getting used to the silence of the countryside.

Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne.
Focus: the process of getting used to it is happening now or regularly.
Roughly: I’m getting used to the silence…
Je suis habitué(e) au silence de la campagne.
Focus: the resulting state – you are already used to it.
Roughly: I’m used to the silence…

So:

Use je m’habitue when the adaptation is in progress.
Use je suis habitué(e) when the adaptation has already happened, and this is now your normal state.

Why is it au silence and not à le silence?

Because French contracts à + le into au:

à + le silence → au silence
à + la stays à la
à + l’ stays à l’
à + les → aux

The verb s’habituer always uses à:

s’habituer à quelque chose / quelqu’un

Here, silence is masculine singular (le silence), so à le silence must become au silence.

Why is it de la campagne and not à la campagne?

Different prepositions express different relations:

de la campagne = of the countryside
It describes the origin or source of the silence: the silence that comes from / belongs to the countryside.
à la campagne = in the countryside
It describes a location: in the countryside.

So:

Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne.
Emphasis: the kind of silence (the particular quietness characteristic of the countryside).

If you said:

Je m’habitue au silence à la campagne.

that would sound more like: I’m getting used to the silence when I’m in the countryside (a bit less tight stylistically, and you lose the idea that this is the distinctive silence of that place).

Could campagne also mean a political campaign here? How do we know it means “countryside”?

Campagne in French can mean:

countryside (rural area)
campaign (political, advertising, military, etc.)

In this sentence, de la campagne links to silence, and the most natural association is:

le silence de la campagne = the quiet of the countryside

A political campaign is normally noisy, full of speeches, meetings, media, etc., so le silence d’une campagne électorale would sound ironic or would need more context.

By default, when you see la campagne without another specifying word (électorale, publicitaire, militaire…), it most often means the countryside.

Can I replace au silence de la campagne with y and say Je m’y habitue?

Yes, if the context is clear, you can avoid repeating the whole phrase:

Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne.
Je m’y habitue. = I’m getting used to it.

Here y replaces à + [something]:

s’habituer à quelque chose → s’y habituer

So if “it” (what you’re getting used to) has already been clearly mentioned, Je m’y habitue is natural and idiomatic.

How would I say “I got used to the silence of the countryside” or “I have gotten used to it” in French?

Use the passé composé of s’habituer:

Je me suis habitué au silence de la campagne. (speaker male)
Je me suis habituée au silence de la campagne. (speaker female)

This corresponds to:

I got used to the silence of the countryside.
I have gotten/I've gotten used to the silence of the countryside.

With y:

Je m’y suis habitué. / Je m’y suis habituée.
= I (have) gotten used to it.

Note: In writing, the past participle habitué agrees in gender and number with the subject here (habitué / habituée / habitués / habituées).

How do you pronounce Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne? Anything tricky?

Approximate pronunciation (standard French):

Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne
→ /ʒə ma.bi.ty o si.lɑ̃s də la kɑ̃.paɲ/

Key points:

Je m’habitue:
- h in habitue is silent (h muet), so m’ contracts: m’habitue is pronounced as if it were mabitue.
- Syllables: ma-bi-ty.
silence: /si.lɑ̃s/
- Final -ce is /s/, and the en is nasal: /ɑ̃/.
campagne: /kɑ̃.paɲ/
- gn = /ɲ/, like the ny in “canyon”.

There’s no liaison you must make between silence and de; you simply say silence [si.lɑ̃s] then de [də].

Where does the reflexive pronoun go if I put the sentence in the negative or change the tense?

The reflexive pronoun stays right next to the verb it belongs to, but its position shifts with tense and negation.

Simple present (affirmative)
- Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne.
Simple present (negative)
- Je ne m’habitue pas au silence de la campagne.
  Pattern: ne + pronoun + verb + pas
Near future
- Je vais m’habituer au silence de la campagne.
  Pronoun goes before the infinitive, not before vais.
Near future (negative)
- Je ne vais pas m’habituer au silence de la campagne.
Passé composé
- Je me suis habitué(e) au silence de la campagne.
  Pronoun goes before suis.
Passé composé (negative)
- Je ne me suis pas habitué(e) au silence de la campagne.

Same pattern with y:

Je ne m’y habitue pas.
Je ne vais pas m’y habituer.
Je ne m’y suis pas habitué(e).

Is silence masculine or feminine? What about campagne?

silence is masculine:
- le silence
- un silence profond (a deep silence)
campagne (meaning countryside) is feminine:
- la campagne
- à la campagne (in the countryside)

That’s why you get:

au silence = à + le silence
de la campagne = de + la campagne

Could I use calme instead of silence? What’s the difference?

You can, but the nuance changes slightly:

le silence = the absence of noise, literal quiet, no sound.
le calme = calmness, peacefulness, which can be about sound but also about atmosphere, movement, mood.

So:

Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne.
Emphasis: it’s very quiet there; there’s hardly any noise.
Je m’habitue au calme de la campagne.
Emphasis: the general peaceful atmosphere (fewer cars, slower life, etc.). There may still be sounds (birds, wind), but it’s calm.

Both sentences are correct and idiomatic; you just highlight different aspects.

Does Je m’habitue au silence de la campagne sound natural to native speakers?

Yes, it’s completely natural and idiomatic.

A few very close alternatives you might also hear:

Je m’habitue au silence de la vie à la campagne.
(I’m getting used to the silence of life in the countryside.)
Je m’habitue peu à peu au silence de la campagne.
(I’m gradually getting used to the silence of the countryside.)

But your original sentence is perfectly fine as-is and would be readily used in everyday speech or writing.