Quiet vs. Quite: What's the Difference?

Quick Answer

quiet = adjective — silent, calm, making little noise

quite = adverb — fairly/rather, or completely

Explanation

QUIET (adjective)

Silent, calm, peaceful

opposite: loud, noisy

"Please be quiet in the library."

"It's a quiet little town."

QUITE (adverb)

Fairly/rather, or completely

quite + adjective/adverb

"It's quite cold today." (fairly)

"I'm quite sure." (completely)

Memory trick: Quiet has two syllables, like a hushed "qui-et" whisper. Quite has just one syllable and pairs with adjectives — replace it with "rather" or "very" to check.

Examples

The classroom was completely quiet. (adjective)
This exam is quite difficult. (rather)
She has a quiet voice. (adjective)
You're quite right about that. (completely)
Please be quite during the test.
It's quiet cold outside today.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: The hotel room was quite and comfortable.

Correct: The hotel room was quiet and comfortable. (quiet = adjective, peaceful)

Incorrect: I was quiet surprised by the news.

Correct: I was quite surprised by the news. (quite = rather/very)

Practice

Choose the correct word:

"The library was _____ , and I was _____ impressed by how organized it was."

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