Meaning

Primary

To Hear

Alternatives

To Ask, To Listen

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means hear so the vocab verb version is to hear.

Reading

きく
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

You need to hear something very important, but you can't. In order to hear, you have to take a key () and unlock the doors covering your ears. Go ahead and imagine yourself doing that, focusing on the key.

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 声を聞く

    to hear a voice

    話を聞く

    to listen to what someone has to say

    名前を聞く

    to ask for someone's name

Context Sentences

テキストを聞きます。

We are going to listen to the text.

この日本語は分からないから先生に聞きましょう。

Let's ask the teacher since we don't understand this Japanese.

ねえ、聞いて、エイミー。これはあなたのせいじゃないわ。だって、ケンカしたからって、他の人と寝ていい正当な理由にはならないでしょ。

Listen to me, Amy. This is not your fault. He is not justified in sleeping with someone else just because you two had a fight.

Kanji Composition