Describe listening and asking someone for information. The examples use polite speech in everyday situations.
The idea
This is a godan verb: final く changes to きます in the polite form and to いて in the て form. The polite negative ends in ません, the past in ました. Use を for a sound or information. With a question, に marks the person asked and を marks what is asked. Here ています describes an action in progress.
| Dictionary form | Polite non-past | Polite negative | Polite past | て form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 聞く | 聞きます | 聞きません | 聞きました | 聞いて |
Examples
- 毎朝、ラジオを聞きます。I listen to the radio every morning.
- 今日は音楽を聞きません。I am not listening to music today.
- 昨日、友達の話を聞きました。Yesterday I listened to a friend’s story.
- どうぞ、この歌を聞いてください。Please listen to this song.
- 駅で人に道を聞きます。I ask someone for directions at the station.
- 今、子どもが音楽を聞いています。A child is listening to music now.
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Watch out
きく can mean listening or asking; the context and particles show which. きこえる describes a sound being audible, without necessarily listening deliberately.
Try it yourself
ラジオを＿。（聞く→ます）
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聞きます
聞きます is the polite non-past of 聞く; context tells whether it refers to a habit or the future.
歌を＿ください。（聞く→て）
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聞いて
聞いて is the て form of 聞く. Before ください it forms a polite request.
先生＿道を聞きます。（に／で）
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に
に marks the person being asked; を marks the information requested.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
ラジオを＿。（聞く→ます）
歌を＿ください。（聞く→て）
先生＿道を聞きます。（に／で）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Say what you listen to, then ask a person for directions using both に and を. Check the particles and verb forms against the examples.