耳を傾ける

• 読み: みみをかたむける
• ローマ字: mimi wo katamukeru
• 漢字の分解: 耳 (mimi) — ear; 傾ける (katamukeru) — to tilt, to incline, to lean toward
• 発音: /mi.mi.wo.ka.ta.mɯ.ke.ɾɯ/

意味

To listen attentively; to lend an ear; to pay close attention to what is being said.

A common Japanese idiom (慣用句) meaning to direct one's full attention to listening. The image is of tilting one's ear toward the speaker. Used both literally for careful listening and figuratively for taking someone's opinion seriously. Often appears in formal and literary contexts: 部下の意見に耳を傾ける (listening to the opinions of subordinates) or 民の声に耳を傾ける (lending an ear to the people).

例文

1. 彼女は相手の話にじっと耳を傾け、途中で口を挟もうとしなかった。
2. 優れたリーダーは、職場の末端の声にも耳を傾けることを怠らない。
3. 子どもの訴えに耳を傾けることが、信頼関係を築く第一歩になる。

使い方ガイド

場面: listening, leadership, communication, counselling

トーン: attentive

起源と歴史

A classical Japanese idiom. 耳 means ear, 傾ける means to tilt or incline — together evoking the physical act of leaning one's ear toward the source of sound to hear it more clearly.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal