also: きくみみをもたない · きくみみをもたん
expression, noun-modifying (irregular)
turn a deaf ear to; refuse to listen; not heed
Idiomatic expression meaning to deliberately ignore what someone says; often used when someone stubbornly refuses to accept advice or criticism. The ぬ ending is literary/formal; the modern equivalent is 聞く耳を持たない.
See also: 聞く耳を持たない
He turned a deaf ear to the advice.
The boss had an attitude of not listening to his subordinates' opinions.
Similar meaning 'not lend an ear', but 聞く耳を持たぬ emphasizes a stubborn refusal to listen, while 耳を貸さない can simply mean not paying attention.
Standard written form; the negative ending ぬ is a literary/formal equivalent of ない.
Modern colloquial form with ない; this is the version most learners will encounter in everyday speech.
Search-only contracted form; ん is a colloquial contraction of ぬ.
Search-only kana variant of the contracted form.
Literally 'not have an ear to listen'. The phrase uses the classical negative auxiliary ぬ attached to the verb 持つ. It is a set expression meaning to refuse to listen.