# Other languages' versions of "shhhh" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584 "2011-10-23T23:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/21 "2011-10-25T06:42:32Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Which in Sweden is used to get someone’s attention in a situation where you’re supposed to be silent. Same in English. > [@clairobscur](#): > > Which makes me think that “chut” in French is more a word than an onomatopea like “shhh” in English. I’m not sure, though, that the English “shhh” is onomatopoeia. What sound does “shhh” emulate? ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/22 "2011-10-25T06:43:39Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That’s actually another common use of “pst” in German too. Thus far I’ve counted three variations in this thread: 1. Typical hushing, like in a movie theater 2. More commanding hushing, like parent to a child 3. A small hushing sound like a nudge to let somebody know they should be silent (I actually recognize the difference, it is different, but I have difficulty in phrasing it in a way that makes it different from the normal hushing) ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/23 "2011-10-25T06:49:39Z")
In Russian: Тссссс (pron. “tsssss”). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/24 "2011-10-25T06:55:01Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I’m not sure, though, that the English “shhh” is onomatopoeia. What sound does “shhh” emulate? What’s an onomatopoeia is writing it like that. In Spanish we say that someone is _chistando_ whether the actual noise they made was shhh, chis, chs or chischis - these last four are onomatopoeias, since they try to reproduce the actual phonemes being used, but the verb _chistar_ itself is not, as it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/25 "2011-10-26T02:51:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What’s an onomatopoeia is writing it like that. In Spanish we say that someone is _chistando_ whether the actual noise they made was shhh, chis, chs or chischis - these last four are onomatopoeias, since they try to reproduce the actual phonemes being used, but the verb _chistar_ itself is not, as it doesn’t. I would understand it the other way around. The word _chistar_ is onomatopoeia since it’s a word that represents a given sound. Shhh, chis, chs or chischis, and so on are the actual sounds themselves. Similarly, the sound a cow makes is whatever it is, just a sound, but the wood moo is onomatopoeia because it’s a representation of that sound. I’m not saying I’m right. It could very well be that the situation is the opposite of what I thought it is. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/26 "2011-10-26T07:11:01Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I would understand it the other way around. The word _chistar_ is onomatopoeia since it’s a word that represents a given sound. Shhh, chis, chs or chischis, and so on are the actual sounds themselves. Similarly, the sound a cow makes is whatever it is, just a sound, but the wood moo is onomatopoeia because it’s a representation of that sound. I’m not saying I’m right. It could very well be that the situation is the opposite of what I thought it is. You seem to have the definition right but the concept wrong, and I have no idea how is that even possible. An onomatopoeia is a word which attempts to reproduce a sound exactly - which chistar doesn’t, but moo or chis do. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/27 "2011-10-26T23:14:23Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > You seem to have the definition right but the concept wrong, and I have no idea how is that even possible. An onomatopoeia is a word which attempts to reproduce a sound exactly - which chistar doesn’t, but moo or chis do. According to the Wikipedia, “An onomatopoeia […] is a word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes.” The way I understand this is that onomatopoeia is a sort of interpretation of a sound that makes the original sound pronounceable or grammatical or whatever. It seems to me that _chistar_ does this, and so, it is an onomatopoeia. _Shhh_ and the like are the sounds themselves. _Shhh_ doesn’t suggest the source of the sound _shhh_. _Shhh_ is the sound of _origin_. There’s nothing about the sound _shhh_ that suggests silence. Or maybe it does? Is that what I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/28 "2011-10-26T23:20:54Z")
I think Hebrew is the same - shh = sheket. It’s probably the most-often Hebrew word used when I visit my first grade son during his lunchtime. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/29 "2011-10-27T09:05:45Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > According to the Wikipedia, “An onomatopoeia […] is a word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes.” > > The way I understand this is that onomatopoeia is a sort of interpretation of a sound that makes the original sound pronounceable or grammatical or whatever. It seems to me that _chistar_ does this, and so, it is an onomatopoeia. _Shhh_ and the like are the sounds themselves. _Shhh_ doesn’t suggest the source of the sound _shhh_. _Shhh_ is the sound of _origin_. There’s nothing about the sound _shhh_ that suggests silence. Or maybe it does? Is that what I’m missing? “Shh” doesn’t suggest silence, but it imitates the sound someone uses to call others to silence. Meow/_miau_ is an onomatopoeia. _Maullar_ is not. Woof/_guau_ is an onomatopoeia. _Ladrar_ is very much not. ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/30 "2011-10-27T09:10:25Z")
In Finnish, shhh, shhht or hys. ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/31 "2011-10-27T14:46:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > “Shh” doesn’t suggest silence, but it imitates the sound someone uses to call others to silence. “Shh” doesn’t imitate the sound someone uses to call others to silence, it IS the sound someone uses to call others to silence. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/32 "2011-10-27T16:02:37Z")
> [@Hokkaido\_Brit](#): > > In Japanese it’s “Shi” with a short, sharp sound at the end. I’m taking your word for this, since you live there and all, but in all my 30+ years of exposure to Japanese language, people and TV programs, I have never heard of that. I’m going to ask my SO tonight. The only thing I’m familiar with is ‘urusai’, which I have taken to mean ‘shut up (because I don’t like what you’re saying)’ most often, but sometimes I have heard it used as ‘(something or other) is noisy’. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smashed_Ice_Cream)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/33 "2011-10-27T21:05:51Z")
In Hebrew it’s pronounced “seh-ket.” I think this is my first post in about 5 years… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/34 "2011-10-28T06:37:20Z")
> [@grama](#): > > “Shh” doesn’t imitate the sound someone uses to call others to silence, it IS the sound someone uses to call others to silence. Right. And you write it phonetically, which is what an onomatopoeia is. Someone writing phonics is using onomatopoeias. ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/35 "2011-10-28T12:42:56Z")
North German: pst South German: pscht Greek: ssst or sout (soot, with a very short oo) ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584/36 "2011-10-29T07:20:36Z")
Tagalog has “pwisit” which I don’t think is a word, but it’s not quite as simple as “shhh” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-languages-versions-of-shhhh/600584.md?page=1)