modality N4 common casualpolitewritten
聞こえる — be audible / can be heard (spontaneous)
聞こえる ・ きこえる
Meaning
- be audible / can be heard — a sound reaches your ears on its own
Key sentence
遠くから電車の音が聞こえる。
I can hear the sound of a train in the distance.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + が | N + が + 聞こえる | 音が聞こえる |
Examples
隣の部屋から音楽が聞こえてくる。
Music is coming through from the next room.
声が小さくて、よく聞こえません。
Your voice is too quiet; I can't hear you well.
波の音が聞こえて、心が落ち着いた。
I could hear the waves, and it calmed me.
Easily confused with
見える The hearing twin of 見える. Both describe a perception arriving by itself — 聞こえる for sound, 見える for sight — with no effort or intent on your part. 聞ける (potential) 聞こえる = a sound naturally reaches you (音が聞こえる — I can hear a sound). 聞ける = you have the chance/ability to listen to something you choose (好きな曲が聞ける — I get to listen to my favorite song).
Notes
- 聞こえる also means 'sound like / come across as' when paired with an adverbial: 皮肉に聞こえる (sounds sarcastic), 言い訳に聞こえる (comes across as an excuse).
See 聞こえる in real sentences
Jengo shows 聞こえる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.