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Learn Hardcore German: Bitte schweigen Sie kurz. - Please remain silent for a moment.

Hardcore German
/Checking an incorrect energy bill
/Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.

Word

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.

Meaning

Please remain silent for a moment.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore German

Lesson

Checking an incorrect energy bill

Breakdown of Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.

briefly; for a moment

to remain silent

Questions & Answers about Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.

Why is Sie capitalized here?

Because this Sie means the formal you.

In German, the formal pronouns Sie, Ihnen, Ihr, etc. are capitalized to distinguish them from:

sie = she
sie = they

So in Bitte schweigen Sie kurz, Sie is not she or they. It is the polite/formal way to address one person or multiple people.

Why is the verb schweigen in its basic form? Shouldn’t it be something like schweigen Sie only if it is infinitive + pronoun?

This is the formal imperative.

With the formal Sie command in German, the structure is:

Verb + Sie

So:

Kommen Sie! = Come!
Warten Sie! = Wait!
Schweigen Sie! = Be silent! / Please be quiet!

The verb looks like the infinitive, but in this command pattern that is normal. The presence of Sie tells you it is a formal command, not just an infinitive sitting by itself.

Why is the word order schweigen Sie and not Sie schweigen?

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Because commands use a different word order from normal statements.

Statement: Sie schweigen. = You are silent / You keep quiet.
Command: Schweigen Sie! = Be quiet! / Please keep silent!

In formal commands, the verb comes first, then Sie.

So the sentence follows the standard formal imperative pattern: Bitte + verb + Sie + other words

What exactly does bitte do in this sentence?

Bitte makes the sentence more polite.

Without it:

Schweigen Sie kurz. sounds more direct and firmer.

With it:

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz. sounds more courteous.

In German, bitte can often appear in different positions:

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.
Schweigen Sie bitte kurz.
Schweigen Sie kurz, bitte.

All are possible, though the tone can vary slightly.

What does kurz mean here? Is it the same as short?

Yes, kurz literally means short, but here it functions adverbially and means something like:

briefly
for a moment
for a short time

So it is not describing a noun. It is modifying the action schweigen.

That is why Bitte schweigen Sie kurz means please be quiet for a moment / briefly.

Is schweigen the normal verb for telling someone to be quiet?

It is correct, but it can sound a bit formal, stern, or literary depending on context.

schweigen means to remain silent or to keep silent. It is stronger and more specific than just to be quiet.

Other common ways to express similar ideas are:

Bitte seien Sie kurz still. = Please be quiet for a moment.
Bitte seien Sie leise. = Please be quiet.
Bitte Ruhe. = Quiet, please. / Please be quiet.

So Bitte schweigen Sie kurz is grammatical and understandable, but in everyday conversation some speakers might prefer still or leise.

Is this sentence singular or plural? Is the speaker talking to one person or more than one?

It can be either.

Formal Sie is used for:

one person addressed politely
several people addressed politely

So Bitte schweigen Sie kurz could mean:

Please be quiet for a moment, sir/madam
Please be quiet for a moment, everyone (in a formal setting)

German does not distinguish singular and plural in the formal Sie form here.

Could I also say Schweigen Sie bitte kurz?

Yes. That is perfectly natural.

These are all possible:

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.
Schweigen Sie bitte kurz.
Schweigen Sie kurz, bitte.

The differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm:

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz. starts politely right away.
Schweigen Sie bitte kurz. puts the command structure first.
Schweigen Sie kurz, bitte. often sounds a bit more spoken or appended.

Why isn’t there an exclamation mark?

German commands can be written with either a period or an exclamation mark.

Bitte schweigen Sie kurz.
Bitte schweigen Sie kurz!

A period makes it look calmer, more neutral, or more formal. An exclamation mark makes it stronger or more urgent.

So the period is completely normal here.

How would this be different in the informal du form?

In the informal singular, the imperative would be:

Schweig bitte kurz.

Here, the imperative is no longer verb + Sie. Instead, German uses a special imperative form for du.

Compare:

Formal: Schweigen Sie kurz.
Informal singular: Schweig kurz.
Informal plural: Schweigt kurz.

So this sentence is specifically in the polite/formal style.

Is schweigen a strong command, like telling someone to shut up?

Not exactly, but it can sound strong.

schweigen means to remain silent, so it can sound more forceful or official than a softer expression like still sein.

Roughly speaking:

still sein = be quiet
leise sein = be quiet / not loud
schweigen = keep silent

So depending on tone and context, Bitte schweigen Sie kurz may sound formal and firm rather than rude, but it is usually less colloquial than what people often say in everyday speech.

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