Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 16/18

聞(き)こえる

To be audible, To sound (like), (Can) hear, To be heard

聞こえる was originally a conjugation of 聞く、but nowadays it is treated as a standalone intransitive verb

Structure

Noun + が + 聞(き)こえる
［い］Adjective［く］+ 聞(き)こえる
［な］Adjective + に + 聞(き)こえる
Noun + に + 聞(き)こえる

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About 聞こえる

聞(き)こえる is a verb that is often used to describe things that can be heard, or the way in which something is heard. Because of this, the most common translations of this verb are 'to be audible', or 'to sound like (A)'. 聞(き)こえる is an intransitive verb, and literally means 'to give off sound'.
When using 聞(き)こえる, (A) will always be followed by が. (A) is considered to be the 'source' of the sound (a noun). However, the 'way that something sounds' will be marked adverbially. This means that an い-Adjective will be changed to its く form, and な-Adjectives/nouns will be followed by に.
  • 車(くるま)の音(おと)が聞(き)こえる。
    I can hear the sound of a car.
  • アニメに出(で)てくる女(おんな)の子(こ)の声(こえ)は可愛(かわい)く聞(き)こえるけど、声優(せいゆう)はいつもおばさんだ。
    Voices of girls that appear in anime sound cute, but the voice actor is always an old lady.
  • こう歌(うた)うと上手(じょうず)に聞(き)こえる。
    If you sing like this, you will sound good.
  • 電車(でんしゃ)に聞(き)こえるけどあれは隣(となり)の人(ひと)のいびきだ。
    It sounds like a train, but that is the neighbor's snoring.
Fun Fact
The primary difference between 聞(き)こえる, and 聞(き)ける (the potential form of 聞(き)く), is that 聞(き)こえる is used to identify things that do not require the active concentration of the listener to be heard. In other words, ambient noise. However, 聞(き)ける is used when the speaker is trying to concentrate on some specific sound, and refers to their 'ability' to hear it.
  • 静(しず)かな部屋(へや)にいると聞(き)こえるよ。
    You can hear it if you are in a quiet room. (Without effort)
  • 静(しず)かな部屋(へや)にいると聞(き)けるよ。
    If you are in a quiet room, you can hear it. (If you focus and try to hear the sound)

Examples

  • 「西山(にしやま)さんは生(う)まれつき耳(みみ)が聞(き)こえないんです。」

    'Nishiyama has been deaf since birth.'

    To make this sentence generally nicer, you can use 耳が不自由です 'to not have free use of your ears' instead.

    • 隣(となり)のせきくんはうるさすぎるわよ。彼(かれ)が音楽(おんがく)を聴(き)くときいつもあたしのアパートに聞(き)こえるわ！

      My neighbor Seki is too loud! Whenever he listens to music, I can hear it in my flat!

      • 「教師(きょうし)の声(こえ)が小(ちい)さすぎるから何(なに)も聞(き)こえないんだよ。」

        'The teacher is too quiet, so I cannot hear anything.'

        • 「外(そと)がうるさいからテレビの音(おと)がよく聞(き)こえない。」

          'Since it is loud outside, I cannot hear the TV very well.'

          • 「滝(たき)の音(おと)はすごく大(おお)きくてここからでも聞(き)こえます！」

            'The sound of the waterfall is really loud, and we can hear it even from here!'

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            聞こえる – Grammar Discussion

            Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

            • rexd

              rexd

              The grammar page says “Noun + が + 聞こえる”, but “今のノック____た？” dinged me for “が 聞こえ”. It just wanted “今のノック聞きこえた” Can someone help me wrap my brain around this one? I assumed ノック is a noun.

            • okayfrog

              okayfrog

              I’m wondering about this as well. Doesn’t make any sense.

            • Fuga

              Fuga

              Hey @rexd !

              ノック is a noun, so we have added がきこえた as an accepted answer.

              Although が should be used there, when 聞こえた is simply used as ‘hear’ in a casual conversation, it can be omitted.

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