Learn Hardcore Russian: Мне нравится тишина.

Because in Russian the verb нравиться doesn’t take the person who likes something as its subject. Instead, the thing that is liked is in the nominative, and the person who likes it is in the dative. So мне (dative of я) literally means “to me.”

Why is тишина in the nominative case and not the accusative?

In the construction with нравиться, the thing that “pleases” is grammatically the subject, so it stays in the nominative case. The person who experiences the liking goes into the dative.

What is the literal word-for-word translation of Мне нравится тишина?

Literally, it’s “To me pleases silence.” This inverted structure is how Russian expresses “I like something.”

Can I say Я нравлюсь тишине instead?

No, that would mean “I am pleasing to silence,” as if you want silence to like you. It’s not used for saying “I like something.” To talk about “I like X,” you always put X in the nominative and yourself in the dative with нравиться.

How is мне нравится different from я люблю?

мне нравится = “I like” (a milder, more casual preference)
я люблю = “I love” or “I really like” (stronger emotion or enduring feeling)

If I use любить instead of нравиться, how would тишина change in case?

With любить, тишина becomes the direct object, so you’d put it in the accusative: я люблю тишину.

Is there any article before тишина, like the silence?

No. Russian has no definite or indefinite articles. You just say тишина for “silence” in general, or add context words if you need specificity.

What is the stress pattern and gender of тишина?

Gender: feminine (ends in -a)
Stress: on the second syllable: тишИна.