whisper; whispering; secret talk
Archaic noun for whispered words or secret conversation. In modern Japanese, ささやき (whisper) or ひそひそ話 (whispered talk) are more common.
古い物語には、恋文の代わりに囁き言を交わす場面がある。
In old tales, there are scenes where lovers exchange whispered words instead of love letters.
Standard kanji form for this archaic noun.
Alternate kanji form; 囁 is not a jōyō kanji, making this spelling less common.
Compound of ささやき (whisper, from verb ささやく) and こと (thing, matter). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is attested in classical Japanese.