# Sssh!



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Hi,

In the thread Things that sound shocking when spoken with a foreign accent, contributors veered into the pronunciation of EN /sh/. This led me to wonder: How do you say "Sssh!" cautioning someone to "Be quiet!" in your language? (I found a thread asking how to say FR "Chut!" in Spanish in "Search thread titles", but not one for "Sssh!", although there may be ones in other bilingual forums.)


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## Nizo

Esperanto:

*ŝŝ! *or* ĉit!* or* ts!*


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## Dymn

Catalan: _xt! _/ʃt/


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## apmoy70

Greek:

*«Σσστ»* [s:t] or *«σουτ»* [sut]
Standard Greek doesn't have the /ʃ/ sound


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## amikama

Hebrew:

*ששש!‏* (/ʃʃʃ/)


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## Encolpius

Nizo said:


> Esperanto: *ŝŝ! *or* ĉit!* or* ts!*


 of Hungarian origin? 

*Hungarian **Csitt! [tʃitt]*


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## ger4

ilocas2 said:


> Czech:
> 
> *pšt!* or *pst!
> *
> it can be written with more than one š or s





Diamant7 said:


> Catalan: _xt! _/ʃt/


German: _pst!, psst!, pssst!, ... _or_ scht! _/ʃt/


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## DaylightDelight

Japanese:
シーッ or シッ /ʃ/ or /ʃi/


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## 810senior

ilocas2 said:


> Czech:
> 
> *pšt!* or *pst!
> *
> it can be written with more than one š or s





Holger2014 said:


> German: _pst!, psst!, pssst!, ... _or_ scht! _/ʃt/



Just out of curiosity, is p sound actually pronounced or else is it silenced like the 'P'sychology in English?


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## ger4

810senior said:


> Just out of curiosity, is p sound actually pronounced or else is it silenced like the 'P'sychology in English?


In German it is pronounced, so it sounds like /pst/


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## bibax

In Czech the p is pronounced as well. As the word pst is unvoiced (or voiceless) it cannot be pronounced too loudly.

We can also put our index finger vertically on the lips.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

bibax said:


> We can also put our index finger vertically on the lips.



Yes, same here. 


810senior said:


> Just out of curiosity, is p sound actually pronounced or else is it silenced like the 'P'sychology in English?



Old joke in English: "(This letter) is silent, like the 'p' in swimming."


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## 810senior

@Holger2014, @ilocas2, @bibax, @ain'ttranslationfun?, Thank you all for answering!



bibax said:


> We can also put our index finger vertically on the lips.



Same here in Japan.


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## Nino83

In Italian it's "sh!" [ʃː] or "ss!" [sː] (with the possibility of putting you index finger vertically on the lips)


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

By the way, "Psst!" (no vowel sound) in EN is used to discreetly get [yes, I just split an infinitive. So shoot (or "Chut!" ) me.] someone's atttention.


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## Nino83

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> By the way, "Psst!" (no vowel sound) in EN is used to discreetly get someone's atttention.


Yes, in Italian it's "ps! ps!" [ps ps] (two times).


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## apmoy70

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> By the way, "Psst!" (no vowel sound) in EN is used to discreetly get [yes, I just split an infinitive. So shoot (or "Chut!" ) me.] someone's atttention.


The same applies to Greek: *«ψτ»* [p͡st] or *«ψιτ»* [p͡sit] 
It was used in the past to get the attention of the waiter/waitress, which is now considered extremely rude.
A continuous *«ψψψ»* [p͡s p͡s p͡s] sound is used to summon cats (don't know why, probably because it's a high-pitched sound)


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

810, The 'p' in "Pssst!" can be pronounced in English.


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## ilocas2

There is a well-known Czech song with name *Š š š* ( ʃ ʃ ʃ ). Original version of this song is from 1967 an it's sung by Helena Blehárová. The version from 2001 by Zuzana Norisová is also famous.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

I'll have to Czech it out (or would if I spoke Czech).


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## Nino83

apmoy70 said:


> A continuous *«ψψψ»* [p͡s p͡s p͡s] sound is used to summon cats


In Italy we use [ǀ], i.e this sound (without the vowel) which is similar to a reverse [ʧ]. Cats in Italy after hearing this sound immediately understand who did it, even if you're 20-30 meters away.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

And what does it mean? "Dinnertime!" ?

I remember a Garfield comic where Lyman said his family had had four cats. Jon asked "What did you call them?" Lyman answered "'Cat', 'Cat', 'Cat', and 'Cat'. What's the use of naming something that doesn't come when you call it?"


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## apmoy70

Nino83 said:


> In Italy we use [ǀ], i.e this sound (without the vowel) which is similar to a reverse [ʧ]. Cats in Italy after hearing this sound immediately understand who did it, even if you're 20-30 meters away.


Haha, that click was used by my late grandmother (b. 1906) to summon her hens and chickens (about a dozen) to feed them (and immediately upon hearing the click, were all running towards her)


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## ilocas2

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> I'll have to Czech it out (or would if I spoke Czech).



I remembered just now that it's actually cover of English song Sugartown.


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## spindlemoss

Welsh has *sh! *[ʃː] and *isht! *[ɪʃt].


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## Red Arrow

In Dutch: *sst!* [ s*ːː*t ] or sometimes *sjt!* [ ʃ*ːː*t ] or *ssjjj!* [ ʃ*ːː* ]

*Psst!* [ ps*ːː*t ] is used to catch someone's attention.


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## Armas

In Finnish we write _Hys!_ but I say [s:], more precisely an allophone of s, with rounded lips, like when saying [y].


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