言う（いう）
JLPT N5 · Godan verb (Group 1)
Pitch accent: heiban (flat) — starts low, stays high, no drop
Meaning: to say
Conjugation
| Form | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| masu-form (polite) | 言います | いいます |
| te-form | 言って | いって |
| ta-form (past) | 言った | いった |
| nai-form (negative) | 言わない | いわない |
| potential form | 言える | いえる |
See the full conjugation table for "言う" →
Example sentences
- 先生が「明日は休みだ」と言った。 — The teacher said, "Tomorrow is a day off."
- 本当のことを正直に言う。 — I tell the truth honestly.
Idioms & proverbs containing “言う”
- 金が物を言う (かねがものをいう) — money talks
- 目は口ほどに物を言う (めはくちほどにものをいう) — one can say more with a look than with ten thousand words; the eyes cannot belie one's true thoughts; the eyes are the windows to the soul; eyes are as eloquent as the tongue
- 言うは易く行うは難し (いうはやすくおこなうはかたし) — it's easier said than done; saying is easy; doing is hard
- 言わぬは言うにまさる (いわぬはいうにまさる) — speech is silver, silence is golden
- 来年のことを言うと鬼が笑う (らいねんのことをいうとおにがわらう) — nobody knows the morrow; speak of next year and the ogres laugh
- 日光を見ない中は結構と言うな (にっこうをみないうちはけっこうというな) — see Nikko and die; don't say "wonderful" until you've seen Nikko
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “言う” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)