LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

To Listen in Japanese: 聞きく (きく) also means hear and ask

To listen in Japanese is 聞きく (きく): 音楽おんがくを聞きく means "to listen to music" — but the same verb also means "to ask" and "to hear", and the particle in the sentence tells you which one you mean.

English splits this into three verbs. Japanese uses one, and that is the whole difficulty. Once you see how the particle changes the meaning, 聞きく stops being confusing and becomes one of the most useful verbs you know.

The basics

How do you say "listen" in Japanese?

The everyday verb is 聞きく (きく). It is a regular godan verb ending in く, so the conjugations are predictable.

  • 聞ききます — polite present: "listen / hear / ask"
  • 聞きいた — plain past: "listened / heard / asked"
  • 聞きいて — te-form: "listen and..." or "please listen"

The く → いて change is the normal pattern for く-verbs. (The famous exception is 行いく, which becomes 行いって.) If te-forms still feel slippery, how to make the te-form covers every verb group.

毎朝まいあさ、音楽おんがくを聞ききます。 — I listen to music every morning. (polite, daily routine) 昨日きのう、ラジオを聞きいた。 — I listened to the radio yesterday. (casual past)

What are the three meanings of 聞きく?

聞きく means "listen to" with を, "ask someone" with に, and "hear" about news or a story. The verb stays the same. The grammar around it changes.

音楽おんがくを聞きく。 — I listen to music. (を marks the thing you listen to) 先生せんせいに聞きく。 — I ask the teacher. (に marks the person you ask) 話はなしを聞きく。 — I listen to the story / hear someone out. (を again, but the object is someone's talk)

The key habit: look at the particle. を + a sound, song, or story = listen. に + a person = ask. Without that clue you cannot tell 先生せんせいに聞きく ("ask the teacher") from a listening sentence.

How do you say "ask" with 聞きく?

Put the person before に and the question before と or inside a plain sentence.

先生せんせいに聞きいてもいいですか。 — May I ask the teacher? (polite, classroom) 友ともだちに道みちを聞きいた。 — I asked a friend for directions. (past, casual narration) ちょっと聞きいてもいいですか。 — Can I ask you something? (polite, a soft opener)

Here 聞きく works like a softer, more everyday cousin of 質問しつもんする ("to pose a question"). In conversation, 聞きく is what people actually say.

How is "hear" different from "listen"?

聞きく can mean "to hear (about)" something, usually news or a rumor. The English "I heard that..." is 〜と聞きいた or 〜って聞きいた.

明日あしたは雨あめだと聞ききました。 — I heard it will rain tomorrow. (polite, reporting what you were told) 彼かれが来くるって聞きいたよ。 — I heard he's coming. (casual, rumor)

This is not about sound reaching your ears by accident. It is about information that was passed to you.

Beyond the basics

What's the difference between 聞きく and 聴きく?

聴きく (also read きく) is the kanji for deliberate, attentive listening, and it is most common with music and lectures. The pronunciation is the same. The kanji choice shows how much attention you are giving.

好すきなバンドの音楽おんがくを聴きく。 — I listen to my favorite band's music. (the 聴ちょう kanji suggests you are really paying attention) 講義こうぎを聴きく。 — I listen to a lecture. (the 聴ちょう kanji suggests a focused, careful listening)

In everyday writing, 聞きく is the safe default and almost nobody will mind. 聴きく is a nuance, not a requirement. You will see it in song titles, music apps, and in words like 聴衆ちょうしゅう (an audience).

What does 聞きこえる mean, and why is it different?

聞きこえる (きこえる) means "to be audible" — a sound reaches you without you trying. 聞きく is something you do. 聞きこえる is something that happens to you.

音おとが聞きこえる。 — I can hear a sound. (it reaches you on its own) 聞きこえません。 — I can't hear it. (polite, the sound isn't reaching you) 聞きこえない! — I can't hear! (casual, shouted in a loud place)

Compare these two:

音楽おんがくを聞きく。 — I listen to music. (you chose to listen) 音楽おんがくが聞きこえる。 — I hear music (from somewhere). (it just reaches you; note が, not を)

The が/を change is a quick test. If you are choosing to listen, use を with 聞きく. If the sound comes to you, use が with 聞きこえる. This is also the right word when you need to say you cannot hear someone: 聞きこえません is "I can't hear you", not 聞ききません.

How do you say "listen!" and "are you listening?"

聞きいて! is the te-form used as a request: "listen!" or "hear me out!" And ねえ、聞きいてる? means "hey, are you listening?" They are some of the most common lines in everyday Japanese, and in anime.

ねえ、聞きいて! — Hey, listen! (casual, grabbing someone's attention) ねえ、聞きいてる? — Hey, are you listening? (casual, a little annoyed or hurt) ちゃんと聞きいてください。 — Please listen properly. (polite, a teacher or boss)

聞きいてる is the shortened form of 聞きいている ("are listening"). In anime, a character who is being ignored will say ねえ、聞きいてる? with a sulky voice. 話はなし聞きいてた? ("were you listening to me?") is its past-tense cousin and usually carries more irritation.

If you want the matching verb for the speaker's side, see speak in Japanese: 話はなす.

What are 聞きき取とり and 聞きき返かえす?

聞きき取とり is "listening comprehension" — catching what was said — and 聞きき返かえす is "to ask someone to say it again". Both are compounds built from 聞きき (the stem of 聞きく).

聞きき取とりが苦手にがてです。 — I'm not good at listening comprehension. (polite, a very common learner confession) 聞きき取とれませんでした。 — I couldn't catch it. (polite past, failing to understand what was said) もう一度いちど聞きき返かえしてもいいですか。 — May I ask you to repeat that? (polite)

聞きき取とれる is the potential form: "to be able to catch". If you want ready-made phrases for the moment you miss something, how to ask someone to repeat in Japanese lists them by politeness.

Is 聞きく ever used for "obeying"?

Yes. 言いうことを聞きく means "to listen to what someone says" in the sense of doing what they say. Parents say it to kids all the time.

ちゃんと言いうことを聞ききなさい。 — Do as you're told. (a firm parent) 全然ぜんぜん言いうことを聞きかない。 — He never does what he's told. (casual complaint)

Common mistakes

  • Using 聞きく when you mean "can't hear". 聞ききません means "I don't listen / I won't listen". If you can't hear because of noise, say 聞きこえません.
  • Missing the particle clue. 先生せんせいを聞きく is wrong for "ask the teacher". It needs に: 先生せんせいに聞きく. Using を makes it sound like you are listening to the teacher as if they were music.
  • Making the te-form 聞きくて or 聞ききて. The te-form is 聞きいて. Stick to the く → いて rule.
  • Overusing 聴きく. Writing 聴きく everywhere looks odd in everyday text. Use 聞きく unless you really mean careful, attentive listening, such as music or a talk.
  • Forgetting the sound of "ask" in speech. If you only know 質問しつもんする, you will sound stiff. 聞きいてもいいですか is the natural way to ask a quick question.

Which 聞きく is it?

Sentence pattern Meaning Example
を + sound or talk + 聞きく listen to 音楽おんがくを聞きく
に + person + 聞きく ask 先生せんせいに聞きく
〜と / 〜って + 聞きく hear (that...) 雨あめだと聞きいた
が + sound + 聞きこえる be audible, can hear 音おとが聞きこえる
聴きく listen attentively 音楽おんがくを聴きく
聞きき取とる / 聞きき取とり catch / listening comprehension 聞きき取とりが苦手にがて
聞きき返かえす ask someone to repeat 聞きき返かえしてもいいですか

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 2 and 3 are a pair — same verb, different particle, different meaning.

1. Say "I listen to music every morning."

Show answer

毎朝まいあさ、音楽おんがくを聞ききます — を marks the thing you listen to, and 聞ききます is the polite form.

2. Say "I asked the teacher." (the teacher is the person you ask)

Show answer

先生せんせいに聞きいた — に marks the person you ask, so 聞きく means "ask" here.

3. Say "I listened to the teacher's talk."

Show answer

先生せんせいの話はなしを聞きいた — を plus a thing (a talk) makes 聞きく mean "listen". This is the pair to question 2.

4. What is the te-form of 聞きく?

Show answer

聞きいて — く-verbs change く to いて. 聞きくて and 聞ききて are both wrong.

5. The room is very loud. Shout "I can't hear!"

Show answer

聞きこえない! — 聞きこえる describes sound reaching you (or not). 聞きかない means "I won't listen".

6. Which is correct for "I hear music (from the next room)": 音楽おんがくを聞きく or 音楽おんがくが聞きこえる?

Show answer

音楽おんがくが聞きこえる — the sound comes to you without a choice, so が plus 聞きこえる fits. 音楽おんがくを聞きく means you deliberately listen.

7. A friend is staring at their phone while you talk. Say "Hey, are you listening?"

Show answer

ねえ、聞きいてる? — 聞きいてる is the casual shortening of 聞きいている, and ねえ grabs their attention.

8. What does 聞きき取とりが苦手にがてです mean?

Show answer

"I'm not good at listening comprehension." — 聞きき取とり is catching what was said, and 苦手にがて means "not good at".

9. When would you write 聴きく instead of 聞きく?

Show answer

When you listen carefully and on purpose, such as to music or a lecture. For everyday listening, asking, and hearing, 聞きく is the safe default.

10. You missed what someone said. Politely ask whether you may have it repeated.

Show answer

もう一度いちど聞きき返かえしてもいいですか — 聞きき返かえす means "ask back", and てもいいですか is the polite permission pattern.

During a trial lesson, make sentences like 音楽おんがくを聞きく and 先生せんせいに聞きく, plus one with 聞きこえる, and check how the particle signals the meaning.

FAQ

Is 聞きく "to listen" or "to hear"? Both, and also "to ask". The particle decides. を with a sound or story means "listen", に with a person means "ask", and 〜と聞きく means "hear that...". For sound that simply reaches you, Japanese uses 聞きこえる.

Is 聞きく pronounced the same as 聴きく? Yes, both are きく. The kanji only shows the nuance: 聞ぶん is general and 聴ちょう is attentive listening. In speech there is no difference at all.

How do I say "I can't hear you" in Japanese? Say 聞きこえません (polite) or 聞きこえない (casual). Do not use 聞ききません, which means "I won't listen" or "I don't ask".

Is 聞きく rude when asking a teacher a question? No. 先生せんせいに聞きいてもいいですか is polite and completely normal. 質問しつもんする sounds a bit more formal, and 聞きく is the natural everyday choice.

What is the difference between 聞きいて and 聞きいてください? 聞きいて is a casual request among friends: "listen!". 聞きいてください is polite: "please listen". Anime characters shout 聞きいて! when they need someone to hear them out.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

聞く	きく — to listen, to ask, to hear
聴く	きく — to listen attentively
聞こえる	きこえる — to be audible, to be able to hear
聞き取り	ききとり — listening comprehension
聞き取る	ききとる — to catch (what was said)
聞き返す	ききかえす — to ask someone to repeat
音楽	おんがく — music
先生	せんせい — teacher
話	はなし — talk, story
音	おと — sound
講義	こうぎ — lecture
質問する	しつもんする — to ask a question
苦手	にがて — not good at
言うこと	いうこと — what someone says

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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