聞く

Japanese
Kanji in this term
聞
き
Grade: 2
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
聴く
訊く

Etymology

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.

Cognates

In the Ryukyuan branch of Japonic, cognate with Kikai 聞きゅい (kikyui), Kunigami 聞ちゅん (hichun, shichun), Miyako 聞きぃ (ksïksï), Northern Amami-Oshima 聞きゅり (kikyuri), Okinawan 聞ちゅん (chichun), Oki-No-Erabu 聞きゅん (kikyun), Southern Amami-Oshima 聞きゅむっ (xikyum), Toku-No-Shima 聞き (kiki), Yaeyama 聞くん (sïkun), Yonaguni 聞ん (kkun), and Yoron 聞きゅん (kikyun).

Pronunciation
  • 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 きく [kìkú]
Imperative (命令形) 聞け きけ [kìké]
Key constructions
Passive 聞かれる きかれる [kìkárérú]
Causative 聞かせる きかせる [kìkásérú]
Potential 聞ける きける [kìkérú]
Volitional 聞こう きこ​ー [kìkóꜜò]
Negative 聞かない きかない [kìkánáí]
Negative perfective 聞かなかった きかな​かった [kìkánáꜜkàttà]
Formal 聞きます ききま​す [kìkímáꜜsù]
Perfective 聞いた きいた [kìítá]
Conjunctive 聞いて きいて [kìíté]
Hypothetical conditional 聞けば きけ​ば [kìkéꜜbà]

Verb

聞(き)く • (kiku) transitive godan (stem 聞(き)き (kiki), past 聞(き)いた (kiita))

Japanese verb pair
active 聞く
mediopassive 聞こえる
  1. 聞く, 聴く:[note 1] to hear, to listen
    よく聞(き)くとセミの鳴(な)き声(ごえ)が聞(き)こえる。
    Yoku kiku to semi no nakigoe ga kikoeru.
    If you listen closely, you can hear the cicadas.
    そんなの聞(き)いたことないぞ。
    Sonna no kīta koto nai zo.
    Never heard of such a thing, dude.
  2. 聞く: to obey
    言(い)うことを聞(き)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
    お母(かあ)さんに聞(き)いたら、だめだって。
    Okāsan ni kiitara, dame da tte.
    When I asked my mom, she said no.
    道(みち)に迷(まよ)った彼(かれ)は、私(わたし)に聞(き)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
    香(こう)を聞(き)く
    kō o kiku
    to smell the incense
    • 1603–1604, 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 quotation)

Usage notes
  1. 聴 usually refers specifically to enjoyment of music.

Conjugation
Conjugation of "聞く" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") 聞か きか kika
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") 聞き きき kiki
Shūshikei ("terminal") 聞く きく kiku
Rentaikei ("attributive") 聞く きく kiku
Kateikei ("hypothetical") 聞け きけ kike
Meireikei ("imperative") 聞け きけ kike
Key constructions
Passive 聞かれる きかれる kikareru
Causative 聞かせる
聞かす		 きかせる
きかす		 kikaseru
kikasu
Potential 聞ける きける kikeru
Volitional 聞こう きこう kikō
Negative 聞かない きかない kikanai
Negative continuative 聞かず きかず kikazu
Formal 聞きます ききます kikimasu
Perfective 聞いた きいた kiita
Conjunctive 聞いて きいて kiite
Hypothetical conditional 聞けば きけば kikeba
Classical conjugation of "聞く" (カ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) 聞かきかkika
Continuative (連用形) 聞きききkiki
Terminal (終止形) 聞くきくkiku
Attributive (連体形) 聞くきくkiku
Realis (已然形) 聞けきけkike
Imperative (命令形) 聞けきけkike
Key constructions
Negative 聞かずきかずkikazu
Contrasting conjunction 聞けどきけどkikedo
Causal conjunction 聞けばきけばkikeba
Conditional conjunction 聞かばきかばkikaba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) 聞きききききkikiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) 聞きけりききけりkikikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action) 聞きつききつkikitu
Perfect tense (natural event) 聞きぬききぬkikinu
Perfect-continuative tense 聞けり
聞きたり		きけり
ききたり		kikeri
kikitari
Volitional 聞かむきかむkikamu

Synonyms

See also

References
  1. “聞・聴”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. 711–712, Kojiki, poem 72:
    , text here
  3. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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