noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
eavesdropping
The act of secretly listening to others' conversations without their knowledge.
隣の部屋の話を立ち聞きしてしまった。
I accidentally eavesdropped on the conversation in the next room.
立ち聞きは失礼だよ。
Eavesdropping is rude.
Standard kanji spelling.
Variant spelling; less common than 立ち聞き.
盗み聞き also means eavesdropping, but carries a stronger nuance of stealth and ill intent, like 'snooping' or 'wiretapping'. 立ち聞き is more about overhearing while standing nearby.
Compound of 立ち (tachi, continuative form of 立つ 'to stand') and 聞き (kiki, continuative form of 聞く 'to listen'), literally 'stand-listen'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word likely originated from the image of standing nearby to overhear a conversation.