聞き分ける – vocab dash

聞きき分わける

Meanings

Ichidan verb

Transitive verb

1. to recognize (by sound); to identify; to differentiate (voices, sounds, etc.); to distinguish; to tell (the difference) by hearing; to hear the difference (between)

2. to (listen and) understand; to listen to reason; to be reasonable

Kanji used

聞hear 分part

Pitch accent

ききわける

Examples4

小こ鳥とりの声こえを聞きき分わけることが出で来きますか。

Can you tell one bird from another by hearing them?

私わたくしは音おん楽がくを聞きき分わける力ちからがない。

I have no ear for music.

しかしながら、未み知ちの外がい国こく語ごを聞きくとき、我われ々われは異ことなる単たん語ごを聞きき分わけることができず、発はつ言げんをほとんど休きゅう止しのない音おとの連れん続ぞくであると認にん識しきします。

However, when listening to an unknown foreign language, our ability to discern different words is lost, and we recognize speech as being a stream of sounds without many pauses.

発はつ音おんし分わけられない音おとはなかなか聞きき分わけられないから、コミュる気きはなくても発はつ音おんは重じゅう要ようだよ。あと発はつ音おんはつづりを覚おぼえる手て掛がかりにもなるし。

You won't really be able to hear the difference between sounds that you can't distinguish by pronouncing, so even if you don't feel like communicating, pronunciation is important. Pronunciation can also be a hint for remembering how a word is spelled.