聞こえる

Japanese

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

Alternative forms

• 聞える

Etymology

Originally /ki1ko2yu/. From lower bigrade 聞こゆ. [kikwoyu] → [kikoyu] → [kikoyeru] → [kikoeru]. The irrealis of 聞く (kiku, “hear”) kika + ゆ "[grammatical suffix]" in attributive form. Etymology reveals an earlier form: kikayu → kikoyu.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) きこえる [kìkóérú] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [kʲi̥ko̞e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

聞こえる (ichidan conjugation, hiragana きこえる, rōmaji kikoeru)

1. to be heard

   蝉 (せみ)の鳴 (な)き声 (ごえ)が聞 (き)こえる。

   Semi no nakigoe ga kikoeru.

   I can hear the chirping of cicadas.

2. to be audible

   彼 (かれ)の携帯電話 (けいたいでんわ)が、映 (えい)画 (が)館 (かん)の観客全員 (かんきゃくぜんいん)が聞 (き)こえるぐらいに鳴 (な)り響 (ひび)いた。

   Kare no keitai denwa ga, eigakan no kankyaku zen'in ga kikoeru gurai ni narihibiita.

   His cellphone rang loud enough for everyone in the movie theater to hear it.

   海 (うみ)が聞 (き)こえる。

   Umi ga kikoeru.

   I can hear the ocean.

   • 2006 November 7, Sorachi, Hideaki, “第だい百二十八訓くん　運うんに身み分ぶんは関かん係けいない [Lesson 128: Luck Has Nothing to Do with Social Status]”, in 銀ぎん魂たま [Silver Soul], volume 15 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:

     ヤベーよ　なんで４番 (ばん)引 (ひ)いてんだよ　あのバカ殿 (との)　ヤベーよ　怒 (おこ)ってるよアレ絶 (ぜっ)対 (たい)勘 (かん)弁 (べん)してくれよ　悪 (わる)気 (ぎ)はなかったんだよ　しかも　よりによってもっさりブリーフの日 (ひ)にあたっちまったよ　恥 (はじ)の上 (うわ)塗 (ぬ)りだよ

     Yabē yo Nan de yon-ban hiiten da yo ano bakatono Yabē yo Okotteru yo are Zettai kanben shite kure yo Warugi wa nakattan da yo Shikamo yoriniyotte mossari burīfu no hi ni atatchimatta yo Haji no owanuri da yo

     We’re screwed! Why did the stupid lord have to draw number 4⁉ We’re screwed! He’s really mad! Please leave me outta this! And he’s wearing such lame briefs today of all days! Which makes him even more pathetic!

     将 (しょう)軍 (ぐん)家 (け)は代 (だい)々 (だい)　もっさりブリーフ派 (は)だ

     Shōgunke wa daidai mossari burīfu-ha da

     For generations of the shōgun clan, we’ve always been fans of lame briefs

     ヤベーよ　きこえてたよ　しかも毎 (まい)日 (にち)もっさりライフだよ

     Yabē yo Kikoeteta yo Shikamo mainichi mossari raifu da yo

     We’re screwed! He heard me! And he’s been lame all his life!

   • 2006 November 7, Sorachi, Hideaki, “第だい百二十八訓くん　運うんに身み分ぶんは関かん係けいない [Lesson 128: Luck Has Nothing to Do with Social Status]”, in 銀ぎん魂たま [Silver Soul], volume 15 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:

     ヤベーよ　二週 (しゅう)連 (れん)続 (ぞく)モザイクトーン使 (し)用 (よう)だよ　ネタ切 (ぎ)れだと思 (おも)われるよ　しかも　将 (しょう)軍 (ぐん)あっちの方 (ほう)は将 (しょう)軍 (ぐん)じゃねーよ　足 (あし)軽 (がる)だよ

     Yabē yo Nishū renzoku mozaiku tōn shiyō da yo Netagire da to omowareru yo Shikamo shōgun atchi no hō wa shōgun ja nē yo Ashigaru da yo

     We’re screwed! We’ve been using pixelated imagery two weeks in a row now! People will think we’re running out of ideas! And his bit down there is barely a shōgun! More like a foot soldier!

     将 (しょう)軍 (ぐん)家 (け)は代 (だい)々 (だい)あっちの方 (ほう)は足 (あし)軽 (がる)だ

     Shōgunke wa daidai atchi no hō wa ashigaru da

     For generations of the shōgun clan, our bits down there have always been foot soldiers

     ヤベーよ　きこえてたよ　もう確 (かく)実 (じつ)に打 (う)ち首 (くび)獄 (ごく)門 (もん)だよ

     Yabē yo Kikoeteta yo Mō kakujitsu ni uchikubigokumon da yo

     We’re screwed! He heard me again! Our heads are gonna be put on display!

3. sound, be taken as (give someone a certain impression from hearing)
4. to be widely known; to be famous

Conjugation

Conjugation of "聞こえる" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	聞こえ	きこえ	kikoe
Continuative (連用形)	聞こえ	きこえ	kikoe
Terminal (終止形)	聞こえる	きこえる	kikoeru
Attributive (連体形)	聞こえる	きこえる	kikoeru
Hypothetical (仮定形)	聞こえれ	きこえれ	kikoere
Imperative (命令形)	聞こえよ¹ 聞こえろ²	きこえよ¹ きこえろ²	kikoeyo¹ kikoero²
Key constructions
Passive	聞こえられる	きこえられる	kikoerareru
Causative	聞こえさせる 聞こえさす	きこえさせる きこえさす	kikoesaseru kikoesasu
Potential	聞こえられる 聞こえれる³	きこえられる きこえれる³	kikoerareru kikoereru³
Volitional	聞こえよう	きこえよう	kikoeyō
Negative	聞こえない 聞こえぬ 聞こえん	きこえない きこえぬ きこえん	kikoenai kikoenu kikoen
Negative continuative	聞こえず	きこえず	kikoezu
Formal	聞こえます	きこえます	kikoemasu
Perfective	聞こえた	きこえた	kikoeta
Conjunctive	聞こえて	きこえて	kikoete
Hypothetical conditional	聞こえれば	きこえれば	kikoereba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential

See also

• 聞 (き)く (kiku, “to listen”)
• 見 (み)える (mieru, “to be visible”)

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.