Meaning

Primary

To Speak

Alternative

To Talk

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means talk so the verb version of this is to talk or to speak.

Reading

はなす
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Every time you try to speak, s (はな) just sprout out of your mouth preventing you. Imagine your mouth full of flowers. Taste them, spit them out, and try to speak again. Same problem.

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 話すスピード

    talking speed

    話すこと

    speaking, something to talk about

    話すとき

    when speaking

Context Sentences

道で他人と話すことは、ほぼありません。

I rarely talk to others on the street.

今回のミーティングでは、主に米国の牛肉のことを話しました。

At this meeting, we mainly talked about American beef.

毎日、ディナーの後に電話で友人と話します。

Every day, I talk to a friend over the phone after dinner.

Kanji Composition