聞きます（ききます、kiきmasu）
- to listen

The Japanese verb 聞きます (読み: ききます, *kikimasu*) primarily means "to listen," "to hear," or "to ask." Its meaning depends on the context. 聞きます can refer to the physical act of hearing, the act of listening attentively, or the act of inquiring or asking a question.

⚫︎音楽を聞きます Translation: I listen to music. ⚫︎先生に質問を聞きます Translation: I ask the teacher a question. ⚫︎電話の音が聞きますか？ Translation: Can you hear the sound of the phone?

⚫︎ Use 聞きます when you want to describe the action of listening to sounds, music, or speech. ⚫︎ Use 聞きます when you are asking someone something or inquiring about information. ⚫︎ The specific meaning depends on the context of the sentence. ⚫︎ It is a versatile verb used in various everyday situations.

⚫︎ The base form is 聞く (読み: きく, *kiku*), which means "to hear" or "to listen." ⚫︎ 聞きます is the polite form (masu-form) of the verb 聞く. ⚫︎ It is written in kanji 聞きます, hiragana ききます.

⚫︎ 聴く (読み: きく, *kiku*) - *To listen to (more attentively, usually music or speech)* ⚫︎ 尋ねる (読み: たずねる, *tazuneru*) - *To ask (a question), to inquire* ⚫︎ 質問する (読み: しつもんする, *shitsumon suru*) - *To ask a question (more formal)*

⚫︎ 話す (読み: はなす, *hanasu*) - *To speak, to talk* ⚫︎ 答える (読み: こたえる, *kotaeru*) - *To answer*

ラジオを聞きます。 ・Translation: I listen to the radio. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the action of listening to a radio program.

何を聞きますか？ ・Translation: What are you listening to? / What are you asking? ・Explanation: The meaning depends on the context. It can be used as a question asking what someone is listening to or what someone is asking.

The kanji 聞 is composed of two parts: 耳 (みみ, *mimi*), meaning "ear," and 門 (もん, *mon*), meaning "gate" or "door". The combination suggests the idea of sound passing through the ear.