聞きく耳みみを持もたぬ

also: きくみみをもたない · きくみみをもたん

Meanings

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.

Kanji

聞hear, ask, listen
耳ear
持hold, have

Related words

聞きく耳みみを持もたない
Modern colloquial form of the same expression; 持たぬ is the literary/formal equivalent.
耳みみを貸かさない
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.

Written forms

聞きく耳みみを持もたぬ
Standard written form; the negative ending ぬ is a literary/formal equivalent of ない.
聞きく耳みみを持もたない
Modern colloquial form with ない; this is the version most learners will encounter in everyday speech.
聞きく耳みみを持もたん
Search-only contracted form; ん is a colloquial contraction of ぬ.
聞きく耳みみをもたん
Search-only kana variant of the contracted form.

Etymology

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.