聞いたことある？
kiita koto aru?
In Japanese, "have you heard of" is said as 聞いたことある？ (kiita koto aru?)
The phrase 聞いたことある？ is used to ask if someone has the experience or knowledge of a specific person, place or thing.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form 聞いたことある？ is informal and should be used with friends, family or people younger than you. For a polite version, use 聞いたことがありますか？
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual speech, the question particle ka is often dropped and replaced by a rising intonation at the end of the sentence. In the polite version 聞いたことがありますか？, the particle ga is added and the polite verb form arimasu ka is used instead of the casual aru?
How do you pronounce it?
kiita koto aru?
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the verb 聞く used in 聞いたことある？ can mean both 'to hear' and 'to ask'. Depending on the context, you might be asking if someone has heard of a topic or if they have previously asked about it.
- While 聞いたことある？ asks about knowledge, a Japanese speaker might respond to a question about a person with 名前は知っています ('I know the name') to signal they have heard of them but do not actually know who they are.
- The word こと in this phrase is one of two ways to write 'thing' in Japanese. While もの refers to physical objects, こと is used here because the experience of hearing is an invisible, intangible event.
Examples in context
- ご存知ですか? 私の友人、佐藤さんをご存知ですか?Do you know? Have you heard of my friend, Mr. Sato?
- 知ってる？新しいレストラン、マツモトって知ってる？Do you know? Have you heard of the new restaurant called Matsumoto?
- このお店、聞いたことある？Kono omise, kiita koto aru?Have you heard of this shop?
- 新しいアプリ、聞いたことある？Atarashii apuri, kiita koto aru?Have you heard of the new app?
- その映画、聞いたことある？Sono eiga, kiita koto aru?Have you heard of that movie?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a famous singer at a cafe.
- 陽葵 Himariあの歌手のこと、聞いたことある？Ano kashu no koto, kiita koto aru?Have you heard of that singer?
- 蓮 Renいや、名前は聞いたことないな。Iya, namae wa kiita koto nai na.No, I haven't heard of the name.
- 陽葵 Himariすごく有名だよ！Sugoku yuumei da yo!She is very famous!
- 蓮 Renそうなんだ、調べてみるよ。Sou nanda, shirabete miru yo.Oh, I'll look her up.
