Japanese symbol for “hear”

In Japanese, hear is 聞く, read きく (kiku).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

1. v5k, vt to hear
2. v5k, vt to listen (e.g. to music)
3. v5k, vt to ask; to enquire; to query
4. v5k, vt to hear about; to hear of; to learn of
5. v5k, vt to follow (advice, order, etc.); to obey; to listen to; to comply with
6. v5k, vt to hear (e.g. a plea); to grant (a request); to accept (e.g. an argument); to give consideration to

Written forms: 聞く、聴く. Readings: きく.

Kanji and stroke order

↻ Replay stroke order

Other Japanese words for “hear”

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

See also: Chinese symbol for “hear”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.