見聞

Chinese

Pronunciation

Noun

見聞

1. what one has seen and heard; personal experience; knowledge; information

Synonyms

Derived terms

Japanese

Etymology 1

Appears to be a Japanese coinage from Sinitic components, as a compound of 見 (ken, “seeing”) +‎ 聞 (bun, “hearing”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) けんぶん (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

見(けん)聞(ぶん) • (kenbun) 

1. looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

   見聞(けんぶん)を広(ひろ)める

   kenbun o hiromeru

   to broaden one's experience or knowledge

Synonyms

• (looking and listening): 見聞き (みきき, ​mikiki)
• (experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Derived terms

• 見聞記(けんぶんき) (kenbunki, “a record of personal experiences”)
• 見聞録(けんぶんろく) (kenbunroku, “a record of personal experiences”)

Verb

見(けん)聞(ぶん)する • (kenbun suru) transitive suru (stem 見(けん)聞(ぶん)し (kenbun shi), past 見(けん)聞(ぶん)した (kenbun shita))

1. to observe, to experience, to see and hear

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to look and listen): 見聞き (みきき, ​mikiki)
• (to experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (to have a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Etymology 2

Alteration from kenbun, using the go'on reading for 聞.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

見(けん)聞(もん) • (kenmon) 

1. looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

Derived terms

• 見聞覚知 (けんもんかくち, ​kenmon kakuchi): (Buddhism) seeing and hearing and remembering and knowing: the six forms of awareness (the five senses plus the mind)
• 見聞衆 (けんもんしゅ, ​kenmonshu): a spectator, an onlooker, someone watching and listening

Etymology 3

Compound of 見 (mi, “seeing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of 見る miru “to see”) +‎ 聞き (kiki, “hearing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of 聞く kiku “to hear”).

Alternative forms

• 見聞き

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) み​きき (Atamadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Usage notes

The 見聞き spelling with the okurigana is more common for this reading.

Generally speaking, terms read using the kun'yomi pronunciation are perceived as more casual and less formal than terms using the on'yomi, much as terms in English from Anglo-Saxon roots are perceived as less formal than synonyms from Latinate roots.

Noun

見聞(みきき) • (mikiki) 

1. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: looking and listening, seeing and hearing
2. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: experience, knowledge, what one has seen and heard

Synonyms

• (experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

Verb

見聞(みきき)する • (mikiki suru) transitive suru (stem 見聞(みきき)し (mikiki shi), past 見聞(みきき)した (mikiki shita))

1. Alternative spelling of 見聞き: to look and listen, to observe, to experience

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to experience in general): 経験 (けいけん, ​keiken)
• (to have a specific experience): 体験 (たいけん, ​taiken)

References