Today’s Spanish word of the day is “callar”.
It’s a verb that means “to be quiet”, “to fall silent”, or “to silence”.
Used reflexively (“callarse”), it means “to stop speaking” or “to shut up” (depending on tone and context). The related adjective, “callado”, means “silent”, “quiet” or “reserved”.
The verb “callar” comes from Latin callare, meaning “to lower”, as in lowering the volume of one’s voice.
“Callar” is a regular verb, so it’s conjugated in the same way as other -ar verbs.
Example sentences
¡Cállate! Estoy tratando de concentrarme.
Be quiet! I’m trying to concentrate.
A veces es mejor callar que herir a alguien.
Sometimes it’s better to stay silent than hurt someone.
No puedo callar lo que siento.
I can’t keep quiet about how I feel.
Callaron cuando entró el maestro.
They fell silent when the teacher walked in.
El miedo nos hace callar demasiadas veces.
Fear makes us stay quiet too often.
