見聞

See also: 见闻

Chinese

		to see; to meet; to appear to see; to meet; to appear; to interview	hear; news; celebrated hear; news; celebrated; sniff at
trad. (見聞)		見	聞
simp. (见闻)		见	闻
anagram		聞見／闻见

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiànwén

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄨㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gin³ man⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kiàn-bûn

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiànwén
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄨㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiànwún
    • Wade–Giles: chien⁴-wên²
    • Yale: jyàn-wén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiannwen
    • Palladius: цзяньвэнь (czjanʹvɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ wən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gin³ man⁶
    • Yale: gin mahn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gin³ man⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: gin³ men⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kiːn³³ mɐn²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiàn-bûn
    • Tâi-lô: kiàn-bûn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kiernbuun
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kiɛn²¹⁻⁵³ bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kiɛn⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kiɛn²¹⁻⁵³ bun¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kiɛn¹¹⁻⁵³ bun²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiɛn²¹⁻⁴¹ bun²³/

Noun

見聞

1. what one has seen and heard; personal experience; knowledge; information

Synonyms

• 學問／学问 (xuéwèn)
• 心得 (xīndé) (knowledge gained)
• 所知 (suǒzhī) (literary)
• 智識／智识 (zhìshí) (literary, or Min Nan and Cantonese)
• 知識／知识
• 聞見／闻见 (wénjiàn) (literary)
• 見識／见识 (jiànshí)
• 認識／认识
• 識見／识见 (shíjiàn) (literary)

 

Derived terms

• 增廣見聞／增广见闻
• 見聞廣博／见闻广博
• 見聞習染／见闻习染

 

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
見	聞
けん Grade: 1	ぶん Grade: 2
on’yomi

Appears to be a Japanese coinage from Sinitic components, as a compound of 見 (ken, “seeing”) +‎ 聞 (bun, “hearing”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) けんぶん [kèńbúń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [kẽ̞mbɯ̟̃ᵝɴ]

Noun

見(けん)聞(ぶん) • (kenbun) 

1. looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

   見聞(けんぶん)を広(ひろ)める

   kenbun o hiromeru

   to broaden one's experience or knowledge

Synonyms

• (looking and listening): 見聞き (みきき, ​mikiki)
• (experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Derived terms

• 見聞記(けんぶんき) (kenbunki, “a record of personal experiences”)
• 見聞録(けんぶんろく) (kenbunroku, “a record of personal experiences”)

Verb

見(けん)聞(ぶん)する • (kenbun suru) transitive suru (stem 見(けん)聞(ぶん)し (kenbun shi), past 見(けん)聞(ぶん)した (kenbun shita))

1. to observe, to experience, to see and hear

Conjugation

Conjugation of "見聞する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	見聞し	けんぶんし	kenbun shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	見聞し	けんぶんし	kenbun shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	見聞する	けんぶんする	kenbun suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	見聞する	けんぶんする	kenbun suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	見聞すれ	けんぶんすれ	kenbun sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	見聞せよ¹ 見聞しろ²	けんぶんせよ¹ けんぶんしろ²	kenbun seyo¹ kenbun shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	見聞される	けんぶんされる	kenbun sareru
Causative	見聞させる 見聞さす	けんぶんさせる けんぶんさす	kenbun saseru kenbun sasu
Potential	見聞できる	けんぶんできる	kenbun dekiru
Volitional	見聞しよう	けんぶんしよう	kenbun shiyō
Negative	見聞しない	けんぶんしない	kenbun shinai
Negative continuative	見聞せず	けんぶんせず	kenbun sezu
Formal	見聞します	けんぶんします	kenbun shimasu
Perfective	見聞した	けんぶんした	kenbun shita
Conjunctive	見聞して	けんぶんして	kenbun shite
Hypothetical conditional	見聞すれば	けんぶんすれば	kenbun sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Synonyms

• (to look and listen): 見聞き (みきき, ​mikiki)
• (to experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (to have a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
見	聞
けん Grade: 1	もん Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alteration from kenbun, using the go'on reading for 聞.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kẽ̞mːõ̞ɴ]

Noun

見(けん)聞(もん) • (kenmon) 

1. looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

Derived terms

• 見聞覚知 (けんもんかくち, ​kenmon kakuchi): (Buddhism) seeing and hearing and remembering and knowing: the six forms of awareness (the five senses plus the mind)
• 見聞衆 (けんもんしゅ, ​kenmonshu): a spectator, an onlooker, someone watching and listening

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
見	聞
み Grade: 1	き Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of 見 (mi, “seeing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of 見る miru “to see”) +‎ 聞き (kiki, “hearing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of 聞く kiku “to hear”).

Alternative forms

• 見聞き

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) み​きき [míꜜkìkì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [mʲikʲi̥kʲi]

Usage notes

The 見聞き spelling with the okurigana is more common for this reading.

Generally speaking, terms read using the kun'yomi pronunciation are perceived as more casual and less formal than terms using the on'yomi, much as terms in English from Anglo-Saxon roots are perceived as less formal than synonyms from Latinate roots.

Noun

見聞(みきき) • (mikiki) 

1. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

Synonyms

• (experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Verb

見聞(みきき)する • (mikiki suru) transitive suru (stem 見聞(みきき)し (mikiki shi), past 見聞(みきき)した (mikiki shita))

1. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: to look and listen, to observe, to experience

Conjugation

Conjugation of "見聞する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	見聞し	みききし	mikiki shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	見聞し	みききし	mikiki shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	見聞する	みききする	mikiki suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	見聞する	みききする	mikiki suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	見聞すれ	みききすれ	mikiki sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	見聞せよ¹ 見聞しろ²	みききせよ¹ みききしろ²	mikiki seyo¹ mikiki shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	見聞される	みききされる	mikiki sareru
Causative	見聞させる 見聞さす	みききさせる みききさす	mikiki saseru mikiki sasu
Potential	見聞できる	みききできる	mikiki dekiru
Volitional	見聞しよう	みききしよう	mikiki shiyō
Negative	見聞しない	みききしない	mikiki shinai
Negative continuative	見聞せず	みききせず	mikiki sezu
Formal	見聞します	みききします	mikiki shimasu
Perfective	見聞した	みききした	mikiki shita
Conjunctive	見聞して	みききして	mikiki shite
Hypothetical conditional	見聞すれば	みききすれば	mikiki sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Synonyms

• (to experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (to have a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)