言う

Japanese

Kanji in this term
言
い Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
謂う 云う

Etymology

/ipu/ → /iɸu/ → /*iwu/ → /iu/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *ipu.

Medial /h/ regularly changed from [p] → [ɸ] → [w]. Japanese never distinguished between /wu/ and /u/, so that automatically becomes [u]. The /w/ only surfaces in the negative form of iwanai, where the phoneme /wa/ exists. Surface forms /iwimasu/ and /iwemasu/ automatically become /iimasu/ and /iemasu/ since Japanese no longer distinguishes /wi, we/ from /i, e/.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いう [ìú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [iɯ̟]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「言う」

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	言う	いう	[ìú]
Imperative (命令形)	言え	いえ	[ìé]
Key constructions
Passive	言われる	いわれる	[ìwárérú]
Causative	言わせる	いわせる	[ìwásérú]
Potential	言える	いえる	[ìérú]
Volitional	言おう	いおー	[ìóꜜò]
Negative	言わない	いわない	[ìwánáí]
Negative perfective	言わなかった	いわなかった	[ìwánáꜜkàttà]
Formal	言います	いいます	[ìímáꜜsù]
Perfective	言った	いった	[ìttá]
Conjunctive	言って	いって	[ìtté]
Hypothetical conditional	言えば	いえば	[ìéꜜbà]

Verb

言(い)う or 言(ゆ)う • (iu or yuu) ^{←いふ (ifu)?}transitive godan (stem 言(い)い (ii), past 言(い)った (itta))

1. to say, to tell somebody
   • circa 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo

     和可夜之奈比乃 可波利爾波 於保末之末須 美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎 宇氣與止 於保止己可都可佐乃比止伊布 之可流可由恵爾 序禮宇氣牟比止良 久流末毛太之米弖 末都利伊禮之米太末布日 與禮良毛伊太佐牟 之可毛己乃波古美於可牟毛 阿夜布可流 可由恵爾 波夜久末可利太末布日之 於保己可ツ可佐奈比氣奈波 比止乃太氣太可比止 □己止波宇氣都流

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • circa 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 7)

     「おのが生さぬ子なれば、心にも従はずなんある」と言ひて、月日過ぐす。

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 10th century: Ise Monogatari (chapter 6, page 84)

     「あなや」といひけれど、神鳴るさはぎにえ聞かざりけり。

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   アリスは私(わたし)に休(やす)みたいと言(い)った。

   Arisu wa watashi ni yasumitai to itta.

   Alice said to me that she wants to rest.

   私(わたし)が言(い)うようにしなさい。

   Watashi ga iu yō ni shinasai.

   Do as I tell you.

   彼(かれ)は変(へん)だと言(い)われた。

   Kare wa hen da to iwareta.

   He was told that he was strange.

2. to call, to name, to give a name
   • circa 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 3)

     いまは昔(むかし)、竹取(たけとり)の翁(おきな)といふもの有(あり)けり。

     Ima wa mukashi, Taketori no Okina to iu mono arikeri.

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   この動(どう)物(ぶつ)は日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか。

   Kono dōbutsu wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.

   What do you call this animal in Japanese?

   ピリオドは、stop&nbsp(ストップ&nbsp);や full&nbsp(フル&nbsp);stop&nbsp(ストップ&nbsp);ともいい、平(へい)叙(じょ)文・命(ぶん・めい)令(れい)文(ぶん)の終(お)わりに付(つ)ける。[1]

   Piriodo wa, sutoppu ya furu sutoppu to mo ii, heijobun meireibun no owari ni tsukeru.

   A period, also called a stop or full stop, attaches to the end of a declarative or imperative sentence.

Usage notes

As a transitive verb, this can take the usual accusative particle を (o) after the object of the verb. However, it is much more common to see this with the quotative particle と (to) instead.

Verb

言(い)う • (iu) ^{←いふ (ifu)?}intransitive godan (stem 言(い)い (ii), past 言(い)った (itta))

1. to cry, to call, to make a noise (such as an animal)

   ニャーニャー言(い)う猫(ねこ)

   nyānyā iu neko

   a mewing cat

Idioms

Idioms

• 言(い)う迄(まで)もない (iu made mo nai): it goes without saying
• 言(い)うに及(およ)ばず (iu ni oyobazu): it goes without saying; it isn't easy to say (not reaching the point of being easily expressed)
• 言(い)うに足(た)らず (iu ni tarazu): it isn't worth bringing up; it isn't easy to say (not sufficiently clear, not easily expressible)
• 言(い)わん方(かた)無(な)し (iwan kata nashi): no way of saying it
• 言(い)わぬが花(はな) (iwanu ga hana): “not saying it, is a flower” → it would be better to leave it unsaid
• 言(い)わずもがな (iwazu mo gana): “not even saying would be preferable” (either because it is already known and doesn't need saying, or because not expressing it at all would be better)

Conjugation

Conjugation of "言う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	言わ	いわ	iwa
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	言い	いい	ii
Shūshikei ("terminal")	言う	いう	iu
Rentaikei ("attributive")	言う	いう	iu
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	言え	いえ	ie
Meireikei ("imperative")	言え	いえ	ie
Key constructions
Passive	言われる	いわれる	iwareru
Causative	言わせる 言わす	いわせる いわす	iwaseru iwasu
Potential	言える	いえる	ieru
Volitional	言おう	いおう	iō
Negative	言わない	いわない	iwanai
Negative continuative	言わず	いわず	iwazu
Formal	言います	いいます	iimasu
Perfective	言った	いった	itta
Conjunctive	言って	いって	itte
Hypothetical conditional	言えば	いえば	ieba

References

• Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.