What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally breaks down to sore (that) o (object marker) kiite (hearing) and yokatta (was good).
Which one should you use?
The phrase それを聞いてよかった emphasizes relief, suggesting that it is a good thing that the news happened. In contrast, if you want to emphasize your own personal joy or the emotion of being happy, you would use 聞いて嬉しい.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form それを聞いてよかった is informal and should be used with friends, family or people of lower social status. To make the phrase polite and suitable for use with superiors or people you are not close to, add desu to the end to form それを聞いてよかったです.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word yokatta is the past tense of ii (good). The phrase uses this past tense to express that the speaker is now feeling relief or happiness because they have already heard the news.
How do you pronounce it?
sore o kiite yokatta
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the word yokatta is often used as a standalone exclamation. In these cases, it functions as a sigh of relief and means 'thank goodness' or 'what a relief' without needing to mention the news.
- If you are speaking to a teacher or a boss, simply adding です to the end of the phrase is not enough to make it truly respectful. For formal business settings, you would need to change the entire verb to a humble form to show proper deference.
- The verb kiku in kiite is a homophone that can mean 'to hear', 'to listen' or 'to ask'. In this specific context, the meaning is determined entirely by the surrounding words and the social situation.
Examples in context
- 合格したんだね、それを聞いてよかった。Gōkaku shitan da ne, sore o kiite yokatta.You passed! I am glad to hear that.
- 仕事が決まったの？それを聞いてよかったよ。Shigoto ga kimatta no? Sore o kiite yokatta yo.You got the job? I'm glad to hear that.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are talking about a recent medical checkup.
- 蓮 Ren検査の結果、異常はなかったよ。Kensa no kekka, ijō wa nakatta yo.The test results showed nothing was wrong.
- 美咲 Misaki本当？それを聞いてよかった！Hontō? Sore o kiite yokatta!Really? I'm glad to hear that!
- 蓮 Ren心配かけてごめんね。Shinpai kakete gomen ne.Sorry for making you worry.
- 美咲 Misakiううん、安心したよ。Ūn, anshin shita yo.No, I'm just relieved.
