How do you say "whisper" in Japanese?

ささやく

sasayaku

Verb Hiragana

In Japanese, "whisper" is ささやく (sasayaku).

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Pronunciation

Sasayaku runs four light syllables, sa-sa-ya-ku, said very softly and evenly, fitting for a word that literally means to whisper.

Writing and usage

ささやく is written using hiragana. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

誰にも聞かれないようにささやく。

dare nimo kika renaiyounisasayaku.

They whisper so no one hears.

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How to remember ささやく

Sasayaku repeats its sa sound twice, sa-sa, like two hushed breaths right before someone leans in to whisper a secret.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about ささやく

How do you pronounce ささやく?

Sasayaku runs four light syllables, sa-sa-ya-ku, said very softly and evenly, fitting for a word that literally means to whisper.

Is ささやく formal or casual?

ささやく is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is ささやく written in Japanese?

ささやく is written using hiragana. Romanised, it reads as sasayaku.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Whisper" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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