聞こえますか？
kikoemasu ka?
In Japanese, "can you hear me?" is expressed as 聞こえますか？ (kikoemasu ka?)
This phrase is used to check if a person is able to perceive the sound of your voice. For example, you can say ちゃんと聞こえますか？ to ask "Can you hear me clearly?" If you want to respond to the question by saying "I can hear you", you would say 聞こえます.
Which one should you use?
While 聞こえますか？ is the standard way to ask the question, 聞こえていますか？ uses a continuous form to emphasize the ongoing state of being able to hear the speaker, which is common during phone or video calls. For a simpler, casual approach, you can use 聞こえる？ or the even more colloquial contraction 聞こえてる？ when speaking among friends. 聞こえてんの？ is an even more informal and colloquial way to ask the same question.
How does it change in a sentence?
The dictionary form 聞こえる means "to be audible" or "to be heard" and is used in casual settings instead of the polite 聞こえますか？ The continuous form 聞こえていますか？ emphasizes the ongoing state of being audible.
How do you pronounce it?
kikoemasu ka?
Did you know?
- If you use the very casual 聞こえてんの？, it can sometimes sound like you are accusing the other person of being deaf or ignoring you, depending on your tone.
- Japanese distinguishes between 聞こえる ('to be audible') and 聞く ('to listen'). The phrase 聞こえますか？ asks if the sound is physically reaching your ears, not if you are paying attention.
- While English speakers often ask 'Can you hear me?' to start a call, Japanese speakers frequently use もしもし ('moshi moshi') first to establish the connection before asking 聞こえますか？
Examples in context
- 私の声は聞こえますか？Watashi no koe wa kikoemasu ka?Can you hear my voice?
- 後ろの方、聞こえますか？Ushiro no hou, kikoemasu ka?Can those in the back hear me?
Example conversation
Misaki is checking her microphone during an online meeting.
- 美咲 Misaki私の声は聞こえますか？Watashi no koe wa kikoemasu ka?Can you hear my voice?
- 大翔 Hirotoはい、よく聞こえますよ。Hai, yoku kikoemasu yo.Yes, I can hear you clearly.
- 美咲 Misakiよかったです。Yokatta desu.That's good.
- 大翔 Hiroto大丈夫です。Daijoubu desu.It's fine.
