ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediateadjetivoadjetivo
LoudvsNoisy
"Loud" = high in volume (a specific sound); "noisy" = producing a lot of irritating ongoing noise.
Side-by-side comparison
Loud
adjetivoHigh in volume. Describes the intensity of a specific sound. Can be positive (loud music) or negative.
The music at the concert was incredibly loud. My ears were ringing afterwards.
She has a loud laugh that you can hear from across the room.
Could you turn down the TV? It's too loud for me to concentrate.
Noisy
adjetivoProducing a lot of noise, especially in an irritating and continuous way. Almost always has a negative connotation.
I can't sleep because my neighbors are so noisy at night.
The construction site outside my window makes working from home really difficult. It's so noisy.
The children were very noisy in the restaurant. Other customers were annoyed.
Common mistake
- •"The explosion was noisy" sounds odd for a single sound: "The explosion was loud" is natural.
- •"Loud" = high volume at a specific moment.
- •"Noisy" = irritatingly noisy environment, ongoing.
Trick to remember it
- •"Loud" = volume knob (a specific sound).
- •"Noisy" = an environment that bothers with constant sound.
- •A concert can be "loud" without being "noisy" (it is not irritating).
Quick rule
- •"Loud" = high in volume (a sound).
- •"Noisy" = irritatingly noisy environment (negative connotation, ongoing).
Did you know?
LOUD has a curious metaphorical visual use: "a loud shirt" makes no noise, it is a shirt with colors so bold they visually "shout." This synesthetic metaphor (mixing senses: sound with sight) is completely natural in English: "loud colors," "loud patterns," "loud makeup" all describe something so visually intense it becomes almost irritating. In Spanish the equivalent is "una camisa chillona", notice that "chillona" also comes from "chillar" (to screech), the same metaphorical leap from sound to vision.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The party next door was so _____ that I couldn't sleep all night.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The children were very _____ at the back of the classroom. The teacher had to ask them to be quiet.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
NoisevsSound
"Noise" is unwanted or formless sound; "sound" is any acoustic signal, pleasant or not.
QuietvsQuite
One means silence or calm, the other means fairly or rather.
AbovevsOver
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
ActuallyvsReally
"Actually" corrects or contrasts an assumption; "really" intensifies or confirms.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy