hiljainen

Hiljainen is a Finnish adjective meaning quiet or silent. It is used to describe sounds, places, or people with low noise or calm demeanor. The term can modify nouns across contexts, e.g., hiljainen huone (a quiet room), hiljainen katu (a quiet street), hiljainen ääni (a soft sound), or hiljainen henkilö (a quiet person). In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun in number and case, so hiljainen appears in various inflected forms such as hiljainen (nominative singular), hiljaisen (genitive singular), hiljaista (partitive singular), and hiljaiset (nominative plural). More forms correspond to other cases.

Etymology: Hiljainen is formed from the adverb hiljaa meaning softly, quietly, with the addition of the adjectival suffix -inen. The noun hiljaisuus means silence or quietness.

Usage and nuance: Hiljainen often conveys calmness or restraint beyond mere absence of noise, and can describe atmospheres, voices, or people. It is related to synonyms such as vaimea (soft, hushed) and rauhallinen (calm, peaceful), but carries a sense of quietness rather than lack of activity. It contrasts with words like meluisa or äänekäs (noisy).

See also: hiljaisuus, vaimea, rauhallinen.