言う

Japanese

Kanji in this term
言
い Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
謂う云う (literary) 曰う

Etymology

/ipu/ → /iɸu/ → /*iwu/ → /iu/ → /juː/

From Old Japanese,^[1] from Proto-Japonic *ipu. Compare Korean 입 (ip, “mouth”).

Medial /p/ regularly changed from [p] → [ɸ] → [w]. Japanese never distinguished between /wu/ and /u/, so that automatically becomes [u]. The /w/ only surfaces in the negative form of iwanai, where the phoneme sequence /wa/ exists. Surface forms /iwimasu/ and /iwemasu/ automatically became /iimasu/ and /iemasu/ since Japanese no longer distinguishes /wi, we/ from /i, e/.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ゆう [yùú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [jɯ̟ː]
Audio: (file)

(careful speech):

(Tokyo) いう [ìú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [iɯ̟]

Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「言う」

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	言う	いう	`[ìú]`
Imperative (命令形)	言え	いえ	`[ìé]`
Key constructions
Passive	言われる	いわれる	`[ìwárérú]`
Causative	言わせる	いわせる	`[ìwásérú]`
Potential	言える	いえる	`[ìérú]`
Volitional	言おう	いおー	`[ìóꜜò]`
Negative	言わない	いわない	`[ìwánáí]`
Negative perfective	言わなかった	いわなかった	`[ìwánáꜜkàttà]`
Formal	言います	いいます	`[ìímáꜜsù]`
Perfective	言った	いった	`[ìttá]`
Conjunctive	言って	いって	`[ìtté]`
Hypothetical conditional	言えば	いえば	`[ìéꜜbà]`

Verb

言(い)う or 言(ゆ)う • (iu or yuu) ^{←いふ (ifu)^?}transitive godan (stem 言(い)い (ii), past 言(い)った (itta))

to say, to tell somebody
- c. 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo:
  和可夜之奈比乃可波利爾波於保末之末須美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎宇氣與止於保止己可都可佐乃比止伊布之可流可由恵爾序禮宇氣牟比止良久流末毛太之米弖末都利伊禮之米太末布日與禮良毛伊太佐牟之可毛己乃波古美於可牟毛阿夜布可流可由恵爾波夜久末可利太末布日之於保己可ツ可佐奈比氣奈波比止乃太氣太可比止 □己止波宇氣都流
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- c. 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 7)
  「おのが生(な)さぬ子(こ)なれば、心(こころ)にも従(じゅう)はずなんある」と言(い)ひて、月(つき)日(ひ)過(す)ぐす。
  “Onoga nasanu ko nareba, kokoro ni mo jū hazu nan aru” to ihite, tsukihi sugusu.
  ‘Since I am not the one who birthed the child, I cannot do whatever I wish,’ he said as days went by.
- c. 905, Ise Monogatari (chapter 6, page 84)
  「あなや」といひけれど、神鳴(かみな)るさはぎにえ聞(き)かざりけり。
  “Anaya” to ihi keredo, kami naru sahagi ni e kikazarikeri.
  He called ‘Anaya,’ but it resounded like the gods crying out.
アリスは私(わたし)に休(やす)みたいと言(い)った。
Arisu wa watashi ni yasumitai to itta.
Alice said to me that she wants to rest.

私(わたし)が言(い)うようにしなさい。
Watashi ga iu yō ni shinasai.
Do as I tell you.

彼(かれ)は変(へん)だと言(い)われた。
Kare wa hen da to iwareta.
He was told that he was strange.

一(ひと)つ言(い)っていい？
Hitotsu itte ii?
Can I just say one thing?
to call, to name, to give a name
- c. 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 3)
  いまは昔(むかし)、竹取(たけとり)の翁(おきな)といふもの有(あり)けり。
  Ima wa mukashi, Taketori no Okina to iu mono arikeri.
  Long ago now, there was one known as Taketori no Okina.
この動(どう)物(ぶつ)は日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか。
Kono dōbutsu wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.
What do you call this animal in Japanese?

ピリオドは、stop(ストップ)やfull(フル) stop(ストップ)ともいい、平(へい)叙(じょ)文(ぶん)・命(めい)令(れい)文(ぶん)の終(お)わりに付(つ)ける。[1]
Piriodo wa, sutoppu ya furu sutoppu to mo ii, heijobun meireibun no owari ni tsukeru.
A period, also called a stop or full stop, attaches to the end of a declarative or imperative sentence.
to cry, to call, to make a noise (such as an animal)
ニャーニャー言(い)う猫(ねこ)
nyānyā iu neko
a mewing cat

Usage notes

As a transitive verb, this can take the usual accusative particle を (o) after the object of the verb. However, it is much more common to see this with the quotative particle と (to) instead.

Compared to other verbs such as 喋(しゃべ)る (shaberu), 話(はな)す (hanasu) and 語(かた)る (kataru), which refer specifically to speaking, this verb is abstract, and sometimes used like a copula, as in そういう, ああいう, こういう, っていうこと.^[3]

Idioms

言(い)う迄(まで)もない (iu made mo nai): it goes without saying
言(い)うに及(およ)ばず (iu ni oyobazu): it goes without saying; it isn't easy to say (not reaching the point of being easily expressed)
言(い)うに足(た)らず (iu ni tarazu): it isn't worth bringing up; it isn't easy to say (not sufficiently clear, not easily expressible)
言(い)わん方(かた)無(な)し (iwan kata nashi): no way of saying it
言(い)わぬが花(はな) (iwanu ga hana): “not saying it, is a flower” → it would be better to leave it unsaid
言(い)わずもがな (iwazu mo gana): “not even saying would be preferable” (either because it is already known and doesn't need saying, or because not expressing it at all would be better)
あっと言(い)う間(ま) (a' to iu ma): "the time it takes to say ah" (the blink of an eye)
あっと言(い)わせる (a' to iwaseru, “to startle someone”)

Conjugation

Conjugation of "言う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	言わ	いわ	iwa
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	言い	いい	ii
Shūshikei ("terminal")	言う	いう	iu
Rentaikei ("attributive")	言う	いう	iu
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	言え	いえ	ie
Meireikei ("imperative")	言え	いえ	ie
Key constructions
Passive	言われる	いわれる	iwareru
Causative	言わせる言わす	いわせるいわす	iwaseru iwasu
Potential	言える	いえる	ieru
Volitional	言おう	いおう	iō
Negative	言わない	いわない	iwanai
Negative continuative	言わず	いわず	iwazu
Formal	言います	いいます	iimasu
Perfective	言った	いった	itta
Conjunctive	言って	いって	itte
Hypothetical conditional	言えば	いえば	ieba

The perfective may also be 言(ゆ)うた (yūta).
The conjunctive may also be 言(ゆ)うて (yūte).

Classical conjugation of "言ふ" (ハ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	言は	いは	ifa
Continuative (連用形)	言ひ	いひ	ifi
Terminal (終止形)	言ふ	いふ	ifu
Attributive (連体形)	言ふ	いふ	ifu
Realis (已然形)	言へ	いへ	ife
Imperative (命令形)	言へ	いへ	ife
Key constructions
Negative	言はず	いはず	ifazu
Contrasting conjunction	言へど	いへど	ifedo
Causal conjunction	言へば	いへば	ifeba
Conditional conjunction	言はば	いはば	ifaba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	言ひき	いひき	ifiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	言ひけり	いひけり	ifikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	言ひつ	いひつ	ifitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	言ひぬ	いひぬ	ifinu
Perfect-continuative tense	言へり言ひたり	いへりいひたり	iferi ifitari
Volitional	言はむ	いはむ	ifamu

Synonyms

語(かた)る (kataru)
述(の)べる (noberu)
話(はな)す (hanasu)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ 精選版日本国語大辞典 [Selected edition: unabridged Japanese language dictionary] (in Japanese), Shogakukan, 2005

Horiuchi, Hideaki with Ken Akiyama (1997) Taketori Monogatari, Ise Monogatari, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
Takeuchi, Rizō (1962) Nara Ibun: Volume 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, →ISBN.

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[3] 精選版日本国語大辞典 [Selected edition: unabridged Japanese language dictionary] (in Japanese), Shogakukan, 2005

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