Italians are not exactly known for keeping their voices down.

But when they do, you might like to know that the Italian verb meaning ‘to whisper’ or ‘to murmur’ is the delightfully onomatopoeic sussurrare.

– Sussurralo

– Whisper it

Hear it pronounced here.

Sussurrare can also be used to talk about rumours and furtive gossip:

– si sussurra che..

– it’s rumoured that…

– gli sussurrò qualcosa all’orecchio

– he whispered something in his ear

Sussurro is the noun meaning “a whisper”:

– Non più di un sussurro

– No more than a whisper

Otherwise, you can use the equally onomatopoeic verb bisbigliare (try repeating it out loud quickly).

– È sgarbato bisbigliare davanti a noi.

– It’s rude to whisper in front of us.

– Non serve bisbigliare

– There’s no need to whisper

With words this beautiful, it’s worth finding ways to use them as often as possible – no matter how loud your family is.

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