聞いた
kiita
To say someone told me in Japanese, use 聞いた (kiita), which literally means I heard.
聞いた is the standard way to say that you learned something from another person when the speaker is unnamed or unimportant.
Which one should you use?
English separates heard and told, but Japanese often uses the one verb for hearing to cover both here. To report what someone said, casual speech uses ～って言ってた, a contracted form. ～って言われた uses 言われる, the passive of 言う and means I was told.
How does it change in a sentence?
聞いた is the plain past form. When the person who told you is someone you respect, the honorific verb おっしゃる replaces 言う.
How do you pronounce it?
It is read kiita, with a long i sound.
Did you know?
- When using the passive 言われた ('I was told'), Japanese speakers often use this form to express that they were scolded or criticized, even if the word 'scold' is not used.
- The humble verb 伺った used in formal settings comes from a root meaning 'to visit' or 'to peek'. It suggests that the speaker is humbly approaching the information from a lower position.
- The verb 聞く is a homonym that can mean 'to listen', 'to hear', and 'to ask'. Depending on the context and pitch accent, saying 'someone told me' can also be interpreted as 'I asked someone'.
Examples in context
- 誰かから聞いたのですが、dareka kara kiita no desu ga,I heard from someone that,
- 友達から聞いた話です。tomodachi kara kiita hanashi desu.It is a story I heard from a friend.
- 昨日、誰かから聞いたよ。kinou, dareka kara kiita yo.I heard it from someone yesterday.
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are talking about a new cafe in town.
- 健太 Kenta新しいカフェができたって聞いたよ。atarashii kafe ga dekita tte kiita yo.I heard that a new cafe opened.
- 陽葵 Himari本当？どこで聞いたの？hontou? doko de kiita no?Really? Where did you hear that?
- 健太 Kenta誰かから聞いたんだけど、すごく美味しいらしいよ。dareka kara kiita n dakedo, sugoku oishii rashii yo.I heard from someone that it's supposed to be very delicious.
- 陽葵 Himariじゃあ、今度一緒に行ってみよう！jaa, kondo issho ni itte miyou!Then, let's go there together sometime!
