senjuuneko wa shizuka desu.

The cat already living in the home is quiet.

Breakdown of senjuuneko wa shizuka desu.

• は: topic particle
• です: to be
• 静しずか: quiet
• 先住猫せんじゅうねこ: a cat already living in the home

Questions & Answers about senjuuneko wa shizuka desu.

How do you read 先住猫?

It is commonly read せんじゅうねこ.

• 先住 = already living there / pre-existing / resident
• 猫 = cat

So 先住猫 refers to the cat that was already in the home before a new cat arrived.

This is a useful pet-related term, but it is not one of the very first everyday vocabulary words beginners usually learn.

What does は do in this sentence?

は marks the topic of the sentence.

In 先住猫 は 静か です, the topic is 先住猫.
The sentence is saying something about that cat: it is quiet.

A natural way to think about it is:

• As for the resident cat, it is quiet.

This does not always translate directly into natural English, but it helps explain the grammar.

Why is it 静かです and not 静かいです?