語る To Talk

Meaning

Primary

To Talk

Alternatives

To Tell, To Recite

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means language, so when you do language you're going to talk about something. Maybe you're going to tell a story, or the truth.

This verb is transitive, so it generally takes a direct object in Japanese, even though the English translations might not.

Reading

かたる

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:

Sometimes when you're trying to talk about something, there will be that one person who always cuts you off to tell their own story. We call them language cutters (かた). They cut you off and make everyone pay attention to what they're saying. Don't be a language cutter.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 〜を語る

  理由を語る

  to give a reason

  自分を語る

  to talk about oneself

  思い出を語る

  to talk about memories

• 〜に語る

  楽しそうに語る

  to talk with apparent happiness

  私に語る

  to talk to me

  正直に語る

  to speak honestly

Context Sentences

次のセミナーでは、何について語る予定ですか？

What do you plan to talk about at the next seminar?

これは有名作家が、自分の一生を語った本です。

This is a book where a famous writer talks about their life.

モダンアート作家が海外生活の体験を語ってくれました。

A modern artist talked about their experience living abroad.

Kanji Composition

1. 語

   ご Language