noun
first time hearing; news to me
Used when hearing something for the first time, often with a nuance of surprise or novelty. Common in the phrase 初耳だ (That's news to me).
その話は初耳だ。
That's the first I've heard of it.
彼が結婚したなんて初耳です。
I had no idea he got married; that's news to me.
A verb phrase meaning 'to hear for the first time'; 初耳 is a noun that often functions as a standalone exclamation.
Compound of 初 (hatsu, 'first') and 耳 (mimi, 'ear'), literally 'first ear', referring to something heard for the first time.