# 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). Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kiku.
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 Ōshima 聞きゅり (kikyuri), Okinawan 聞ちゅん (chichun), Okinoerabu 聞きゅん (kikyun), Southern Amami Ōshima 聞きゅむっ (xikyum), Tokunoshima 聞き (kiki), Yaeyama 聞くん (sïkun), Yonaguni 聞ん (kkun), and Yoron 聞きゅん (kikyun).

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) きく [kìkú] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [kʲi̥kɯ̟]
* 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 |
* 聞く, 聴く: 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.
* 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”)
* 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.
* 聞く: to smell, sniff
    香(こう)を聞(き)く
       kō o kiku
       to smell the incense
** 1603, Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho) [Vocabulary of the Language of Japan] (in Portuguese), Nagasaki, 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

* ↑ 聴 usually refers specifically to enjoyment of music.

#### Conjugation

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 |
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

* (ask): 尋(たず)ねる (tazuneru)

#### Related terms

* 聞(き)こえる (kikoeru): hear

### See also

* 視(し)聴(ちょう)する (shichō suru): (verb) watch and listen (at TV or Video)

### References

* Doi, Tadao (1603–1604) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1980, →ISBN.
* ↑ “聞・聴”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ 711–712, Kojiki, poem 72:, text here
* ↑ 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN