空そら耳みみ

noun

mishearing; auditory illusion

Hearing something incorrectly, often with a humorous or surprising result. Common in everyday conversation.

• さっきの会かい話わ、空そら耳みみだったかもしれない。

  That conversation just now might have been a mishearing.

• 空そら耳みみで変へんな言こと葉ばに聞きこえた。

  I misheard it as a strange word.

noun

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.

• 彼かれは都つ合ごうが悪わるくなると空そら耳みみを使つかう。

  He feigns deafness when things get awkward.

noun

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.

• この洋よう楽がくのサビ、空そら耳みみで「味み噌そ汁しる飲のみたい」に聞きこえる。

  The chorus of this Western song sounds like 'I want to drink miso soup' as a homophonic translation.