mishearing; auditory illusion
Hearing something incorrectly, often with a humorous or surprising result. Common in everyday conversation.
That conversation just now might have been a mishearing.
I misheard it as a strange word.
feigned deafness; pretending not to hear
Deliberately ignoring what someone says, as if one didn't hear it. Often used in the phrase 空耳を使う.
He feigns deafness when things get awkward.
homophonic translation; mondegreen
Intentionally mishearing song lyrics or foreign phrases as similar-sounding Japanese words for comic effect. Popularized by the TV show 空耳アワー.
The chorus of this Western song sounds like 'I want to drink miso soup' as a homophonic translation.
Standard kanji spelling.
Search-only form; not a standard spelling.
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.
A compound of 空 in the sense “false, feigned, or unfounded” and 耳 “hearing; ear.” Its senses developed from falsely hearing something or pretending not to hear.