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聞ける (きける) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

聞きける

き

け

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, transitive verb

to tell; to relate

archaic

Archaic transitive verb meaning 'to tell' or 'to relate' a story or information. Not to be confused with the modern potential form of 聞く (to hear/ask).

昔むかし話ばなしを聞きける。
To tell an old tale.
その老ろう人じんは旅

たび

の

話はなし

を

聞き

け

た

。

The old man told stories of his travels.

Written forms

聞きけるUsage81%
Standard kanji spelling for the potential form of 聞く, meaning 'can hear' or 'can ask'. This word is for the archaic transitive verb 'to tell'.
きけるUsage19%
Kana spelling may be used to avoid confusion with the potential form of 聞く.

Kanji

聞hear, ask, listen

Similar words

聞きく
聞く is the common modern verb meaning 'to hear' or 'to ask'. 聞ける is its potential form ('can hear/ask'), but this word is for the archaic transitive verb 'to tell', which is a separate lexeme.
語かたる
語る is the modern common verb for 'to tell' or 'to narrate'. 聞ける (archaic) is a rare synonym.

Etymology

Archaic transitive verb derived from the same root as 聞く (to hear), but with a causative or transitive sense 'to make hear' → 'to tell'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.