Japanese

くちをきく
Meaning: to speak, to talk; to mediate, to use one's influence
Part of Speech: Expression, Verb

Listen to pronunciation

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Verb inflections

Form Affirmative Negative
Present 口を利く 口を利かない
Polite 口を利きます 口を利きません
Past 口を利いた 口を利かなかった
Polite + Past 口を利きました 口を利きませんでした
Te-form 口を利いて 口を利かなくて
Potential 口を利ける 口を利けない
Passive 口を利かれる 口を利かれない
Causative 口を利かせる 口を利かせない
Causative + Passive 口を利かされる 口を利かされない
Imperative 口を利け 口を利くな

Handwriting

口
を
利
く

Example

Since we had a fight, I haven't spoken a single word to him.

Usage Notes

Commonly used to mean 'to speak' (often in the negative) or to 'put in a good word' for someone as a mediator.

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