言う

Japanese
Kanji in this term
言
い
Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Etymology

From Old Japanese.[1]

/ipu/ → /iɸu/ → /*iwu/ → /iu/

Medial /h/ regularly changed from [p] → [ɸ] → [w]. Japanese never distinguished between /wu/ and /u/, so that automatically becomes [u]. The /w/ only surfaces in the negative form of iwanai, where the phoneme /wa/ exists. Surface forms /iwimasu/ and /iwemasu/ automatically become /iimasu/ and /iemasu/ since Japanese no longer distinguishes /wi, we/ from /i, e/.

Possibly related to Korean 입 (ip, “mouth”).

Pronunciation
Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "言う (いう)"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)		 言う いう [ìú]
Imperative (命令形) 言え いえ [ìé]
Key constructions
Passive 言われる いわれる [ìwárérú]
Causative 言わせる いわせる [ìwásérú]
Potential 言える いえる [ìérú]
Volitional 言おう いお​ー [ìóꜜò]
Negative 言わない いわない [ìwánáí]
Negative perfective 言わなかった いわな​かった [ìwánáꜜkàttà]
Formal 言います いいま​す [ìímáꜜsù]
Perfective 言った いった [ìttá]
Conjunctive 言って いって [ìtté]
Hypothetical conditional 言えば いえ​ば [ìéꜜbà]

Alternative forms

Verb

言う (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いう, rōmaji iu, alternative reading ゆう, rōmaji yuu, historical hiragana いふ)

  1. to say, to tell somebody
    • circa 762, Shōsōin Man'yōgana Monjo
      和可夜之奈比乃 可波利爾波 於保末之末須 美奈美乃末知奈流奴乎 宇氣與止 於保止己可都可佐乃比止伊布 之可流可由恵爾 序禮宇氣牟比止良 久流末毛太之米弖 末都利伊禮之米太末布日 與禮良毛伊太佐牟 之可毛己乃波古美於可牟毛 阿夜布可流 可由恵爾 波夜久末可利太末布日之 於保己可ツ可佐奈比氣奈波 比止乃太氣太可比止 □己止波宇氣都流
      (please add an English translation of this quote)
    • circa 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 7)
      「おのが生さぬ子なれば、心にも従はずなんある」と言ひて、月日過ぐす。
    • 10th century: Ise Monogatari (chapter 6, page 84)
      「あなや」といひけれど、神鳴るさはぎにえ聞かざりけり。
    アリスは私 (わたし)に休 (やす)みたいと言 (い)った。
    Arisu wa watashi ni yasumitai to itta.
    Alice said to me that she wants to rest.
    私 (わたし)が言 (い)うようにしなさい。
    Watashi ga iu yō ni shinasai.
    Do as I tell you.
    彼 (かれ)は変 (へん)だと言 (い)われた。
    Kare wa hen da to iwareta.
    He was told that he was strange.
  2. to call, to name, to give a name
    • circa 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 3)
      いまは昔 (むかし)、竹取 (たけとり)の翁 (おきな)といふもの有 (あり)けり。
      Ima wa mukashi, Taketori no Okina to iu mono arikeri.
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    この動物 (どうぶつ)は日本語 (にほんご)で何 (なん)と言 (い)いますか。
    Kono dōbutsu wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.
    What do you call this animal in Japanese?
    ピリオドは、s (ス)t (ト)o (ッ)p (プ) や full (フル) s (ス)t (ト)o (ッ)p (プ) ともいい、平 (へい)叙 (じょ)文 (ぶん)・命 (めい)令 (れい)文 (ぶん)の終 (お)わりに付 (つ)ける。
    Piriodo wa, sutoppu ya furu sutoppu to mo ii, heijobun meireibun no owari ni tsukeru.
    A period, also called a stop or full stop, attaches to the end of a declarative or imperative sentence.

Usage notes

As a transitive verb, this can take the usual accusative particle を (o) after the object of the verb. However, it is much more common to see this with the quotative particle と (to) instead.

Verb

言う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いう, rōmaji iu, historical hiragana いふ)

  1. to cry, to call, to make a noise (such as an animal)
    ニャーニャー言 (い)う猫 (ねこ)
    nyānyā iu neko
    a mewing cat

Idioms
Idioms
  • 言 (い)う迄 (まで)もない (iu made mo nai): it goes without saying
  • 言 (い)うに及 (およ)ばず (iu ni oyobazu): it goes without saying; it isn't easy to say (not reaching the point of being easily expressed)
  • 言 (い)うに足 (た)らず (iu ni tarazu): it isn't worth bringing up; it isn't easy to say (not sufficiently clear, not easily expressible)
  • 言 (い)わん方無 (かたな)し (iwan kata nashi): no way of saying it
  • 言 (い)わぬが花 (はな) (iwanu ga hana): “not saying it, is a flower” → it would be better to leave it unsaid
  • 言 (い)わずもがな (iwazu mo gana): “not even saying would be preferable” (either because it is already known and doesn't need saying, or because not expressing it at all would be better)

Conjugation
Conjugation of "言う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 言わ いわ iwa
Continuative (連用形) 言い いい ii
Terminal (終止形) 言う いう iu
Attributive (連体形) 言う いう iu
Hypothetical (仮定形) 言え いえ ie
Imperative (命令形) 言え いえ ie
Key constructions
Passive 言われる いわれる iwareru
Causative 言わせる
言わす		 いわせる
いわす		 iwaseru
iwasu
Potential 言える いえる ieru
Volitional 言おう いおう iō
Negative 言わない いわない iwanai
Negative continuative 言わず いわず iwazu
Formal 言います いいます iimasu
Perfective 言った いった itta
Conjunctive 言って いって itte
Hypothetical conditional 言えば いえば ieba

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
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