聞く vs 聴く
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
聞く and 聴く are the same word, きく — only the kanji differs. 聞く is the default: it covers hearing, listening, and also "to ask". 聴く is an optional spelling for listening attentively and on purpose — music, a lecture, someone's story taken seriously — and it can never mean "to ask". Writing 聞く everywhere is still correct.
When to use each
聞く
きく
The default spelling for every sense of きく: sound reaching your ears, listening in general, and asking a question. If you are unsure, use 聞く — it is the textbook spelling and is never wrong.
毎朝ラジオを聞きながら朝ごはんを食べます。
まいあさラジオをききながらあさごはんをたべます。
Every morning I eat breakfast while listening to the radio.
すみません、駅への道を聞いてもいいですか。
すみません、えきへのみちをきいてもいいですか。
Excuse me, may I ask you the way to the station?
聴く
Chosen when the listening is deliberate and focused — putting on music to listen to it, sitting through a lecture, hearing someone out. 聴 is the kanji of 聴講 and 傾聴; it is never used for sound that simply reaches you, and never for asking.
家で静かにクラシックを聴きます。
いえでしずかにクラシックをききます。
I listen to classical music quietly at home.
先生の講義を最後まで聴きました。
せんせいのこうぎをさいごまでききました。
I listened to the professor's lecture right to the end.
Sentences where only one works
交番で道を聞きました。
こうばんでみちをききました。
I asked the way at the police box.
"To ask" is only ever 聞く. This is the one clean rule here: 聴く can never replace it.
隣の部屋から音が聞こえます。
となりのへやからおとがきこえます。
I can hear a sound from the next room.
Sound arriving on its own, with no intention behind it — 聞こえる is always written with 聞.
ヘッドホンでゆっくり音楽を聴きます。
ヘッドホンでゆっくりおんがくをききます。
I listen to music slowly on headphones.
Sitting down to listen on purpose is where 聴く fits best, though 聞きます would also be fine.
彼女の悩みを最後まで聴きました。
かのじょのなやみをさいごまでききました。
I heard out her worries to the end.
Taking someone's story seriously; the 聴 spelling signals the attention. 聞きました is still correct and more common.
Common mistakes
先生に宿題について聴きました。
先生に宿題について聞きました。
This sentence means "I asked the teacher", and asking is never 聴く. Learners who have decided 聴く is the polite or serious spelling put it here too — it simply does not exist in that meaning.
外で大きな音が聴こえました。
外で大きな音が聞こえました。
聞こえる is sound reaching you without your choosing it, which is the opposite of what 聴 means. It is always written 聞こえる.
音楽を聞くのは間違いだ。
音楽を聞くのも聴くのも正しい。
Learners are often told 聴く is "the correct one for music" and start treating 聞く as an error. 聴 is not among the everyday jōyō readings, so many writers use 聞く for everything, including music.
Frequently asked questions
Is 聴く a different word from 聞く?
No. Both are read きく and conjugate identically (聞きます / 聴きます). It is one word with two kanji a writer can choose between.
Can 聴く mean "to ask"?
Never. 道を聞く, 先生に聞く, 名前を聞く — all of these take 聞く only. If the sentence means asking, the spelling is decided for you.
Should I write 音楽を聴く or 音楽を聞く?
Either. 聴く suits listening you sat down to do, but 聞く is standard everywhere and is what textbooks and the JLPT use. You never have to write 聴く.