言います（いいます、iいmasu）
- to say

The Japanese word 言います, read as いいます (iimasu), primarily means "to say," "to tell," or "to be called." It is a versatile verb used to express what someone says, what a person's name is, or how something is described. The specific meaning depends heavily on the context of the sentence. It can refer to statements, descriptions, or even how someone is referred to by others. The word inherently implies the act of communicating something through words. ⚫︎ It is a polite form of the verb.

⚫︎私は田中と言います。 Translation: I am called Tanaka. ⚫︎何を言いましたか？ Translation: What did you say? ⚫︎彼女は日本語が上手だと言っていました。 Translation: She said that she is good at Japanese.

⚫︎ 言います is used in formal and polite situations. ⚫︎ Use 言います to talk about what someone says or to introduce yourself. ⚫︎ You can use 言います to report something someone else said, often with the particle と (to) to connect the quoted speech. ⚫︎ When introducing yourself, the pattern is usually 私は〜と言います (Watashi wa ~ to iimasu), meaning "I am called ~." ⚫︎ This verb often follows a topic marker は (wa) or a particle like が (ga) or を (o) depending on the sentence's structure.

⚫︎ The word is typically written in hiragana as いいます. ⚫︎ The kanji form is 言います. The kanji 言 (gen/kotoba) means "word" or "saying". ⚫︎ There are no other common ways to write this word. ⚫︎ The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is always います. ⚫︎ 言います is the masu-form. The dictionary form is 言う (iu).

⚫︎ 話します (hanashimasu) - to speak, to talk (more general than 言います) ⚫︎ 述べる (noberu) - to state, to express (more formal) ⚫︎ 語る (kataru) - to tell (a story, more narrative) ⚫︎ 言う (iu) - to say (plain form) ⚫︎ 言いました (iimashita) - said (past tense of 言います)

There aren't direct antonyms for 言います in the same way as words like "hot" and "cold." The opposite action would be to remain silent or to not communicate.

私は山田と言います。 ・Translation: I am called Yamada. ・Explanation: This sentence introduces yourself. The topic is established (私/I), and your name is given using と (to) followed by the polite form of the verb, 言います.

先生は宿題をしなさいと言いました。 ・Translation: The teacher said to do the homework. ・Explanation: This sentence reports what the teacher said. The particle と (to) connects the teacher's words to the verb. The past tense 言いました is used because it has already happened.

The verb 言います derives from the verb 言う (iu), meaning "to say." The kanji 言 (gen) itself combines with the verb to form the more formal and polite form. The structure is a fairly common verb conjugation pattern in Japanese, adding ます (masu) to create the polite form.