聞く

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Japanese[edit]

Kanji in this term

Grade: 2
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
聴く
訊く

Etymology[edit]

From Old Japanese. First appears in the Kojiki of 712 CE in its 未然形 (mizenkei, irrealis form), spelled in phonetic man'yōgana as 岐加受 (kikazu).[1][2] Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kiku.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "聞く"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)
聞く [kìkú]
Imperative (命令形) 聞け [kìké]
Key constructions
Passive 聞かれる かれる [kìkárérú]
Causative 聞かせる かせる [kìkásérú]
Potential 聞ける ける [kìkérú]
Volitional 聞こう [kìkóꜜò]
Negative 聞かない かない [kìkánáí]
Negative perfective 聞かなかった かなかった [kìkánáꜜkàttà]
Formal 聞きます きま [kìkímáꜜsù]
Perfective 聞いた いた [kìítá]
Conjunctive 聞いて いて [kìíté]
Hypothetical conditional 聞けば [kìkéꜜbà]

Verb[edit]

() (kikutransitive godan (stem () (kiki), past ()いた (kiita))

Japanese verb pair
active 聞く
mediopassive 聞こえる
  1. 聞く, 聴く: to hear, to listen
    よく()セミ()(ごえ)()こえる
    Yoku kiku to semi no nakigoe ga kikoeru.
    If you listen closely, you can hear the cicadas.
    そんな()いたことない
    Sonna no kīta koto nai zo.
    Never heard of such a thing, dude.
  2. 聞く: to obey
    ()こと()かない
    iu koto o kikanai
    to be disobedient
    (literally, “to not listen to what is said”)
  3. 聞く, 訊く: to ask a question
    (かあ)さんに()いたらだめって
    Okāsan ni kiitara, dame da tte.
    When I asked my mom, she said no.
    (みち)(まよ)った(かれ)(わたし)()いた
    Michi ni mayotta kare wa, watashi ni kiita.
    Since he was lost he asked me the way.
  4. 聞く: to smell, sniff
    • 16031604, Nippo Jisho (page 132)
      Cǒ. カゥ (香) 沈香. Cǒuo taqu. (香を炷く) 芳香を放ち薫るように沈香を焚く. Cǒuo tomuru. (香をとむる) 沈香を薫らせる, または, 着物に薫りをつける. Cǒuo qiqu. (香を聞く) 香炉で焚く沈香や加羅などの香を嗅いで, その香の品質を見る, すなわち, 鑑定する.
      (please add an English translation of this quote)
    (こう)()
    kō o kiku
    to smell the incense

Conjugation[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 聞・聴”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  2. ^ 711712, Kojiki (poem 72), text here
  3. ^ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN