How to Say ‘Listen carefully’ in Japanese
よく きいてね
yoku kii te ne
[yoh-koo kee-ee teh neh]
💬 Usage Tip: [よく きいてね] literally means “listen well.” It is a warm, common instruction from teachers and parents.
🇯🇵 In Japan: In Japanese classrooms, listening carefully before acting is strongly encouraged, so this phrase shows up a lot.
Phrase Breakdown
よく
yoku
[yoh-koo]
well; carefully
Here it means carefully.
よく きいてね。
Listen carefully, okay?
きいてね
kii te ne
listen, okay?; please listen
The te-form of きく here means 'listen,' and ね makes it gentle and inviting.
よく きいてね。
Listen carefully, okay?
Words in this phrase
きい
kii
[kee-ee]
listen
Stem from きく used in きいて, meaning listen.
おはなしを きいて ください。
Please listen to the story.
て
te
[teh]
and; do and
Te-form ending that helps form requests like きいてね.
てを たたいて よろこぶ。
Clap your hands and celebrate.
ね
ne
[neh]
okay?; please
Softens the sentence and adds friendliness.
よく きいてね。
Listen carefully, okay?
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