100437
Why is が{ga} used instead of を{wo} in ~が{ga}[聞ける]{kikeru} in the following
sentence?

> [日本]{nihon} [に]{ni} [いながら]{inagara}、[フランス語]{furansugo} [の]{no} [ラジオ]{rajio}
> [番組]{bangumi} **[が]{ga}** [聞ける]{kikeru}。

If I understood correctly, it should literally mean "While in Japan, the
French radio program listens," since "French radio program" is marked as the
subject by が{ga}.

But, lo and behold, the translation of this sentence is: "You can listen to
French radio programs while in Japan".

Now, if I use を{wo}, the translation becomes: "Listen to French radio programs
while in japan".

This has confused the life out of me. Why is that so?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-29T08:13:47.823
100427
2023-07-30T03:20:32.047
2023-07-30T01:04:49.187
32952
57016
question
grammar particles
Why is が{ga} used instead of を{wo} in ~が{ga}[聞ける]{kikeru}?
There are two different things that are combining here and causing your
confusion. First, the fact that the verbs for "to listen" and "to hear" use
two different words that are very similar, and second, the verb is conjugated
in the potential form. Let's take a look to each point (1. and 2.) separately.

#### 1. [聞く]{kiku} vs [聞こえる]{kikoeru}

Note that for some verbs related to interacting with the world through our
senses (to look, to listen, etc.) there are several words to express the same
action in Japanese depending on wether the action is intentional or not. This
_somewhat_ corresponds to the dichotomies listen/hear and look/see in English.

  1. [聞く]{kiku} → to _purposely_ listen. For example,

> [演奏]{ensou} [を]{wo} [聞く]{kiku} (I listen to a musical performance)

  2. [聞こえる]{kikoeru} → to _unintendedly_ hear. For example,

> [隣]{tonari} [の]{no} [部屋]{heya} [に]{ni} [ある]{aru} [テレビ]{terebi} [が]{ga}
> [聞こえる]{kikoeru} (I hear the television next door).

The same can be said of [見る]{miru} (to _purposely_ look at) and [見える]{mieru}
(to see, to be visible).

So even if [聞く]{kiku} and [聞こえる]{kikoeru} are related, it's better if you
regard them as different words, [as @Karl Knecthel pointed
out](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100427/why-is-%E3%81%8Cga-
used-instead-of-%E3%82%92wo-
in-%E3%81%8Cga%E8%81%9E%E3%81%91%E3%82%8Bkikeru#comment163519_100427). In your
original sentence, the verb is [聞ける]{kikeru}, which ultimately comes from
conjugating [聞く]{kiku} (and not [聞こえる]{kikoeru}) to the potential form.

#### 2. Potential form of [聞く]{kiku}

To make the potential form of some types of verbs, the last hiragana ending in
"u" is replaced by the hiragana with the same consonant but ending in "e" +
"ru":

  * [飲む]{nomu} To drink → [飲める]{nomeru} To be able to drink
  * [聞く]{kiku} To listen → [聞ける]{kikeru} To be able to listen

Now, [聞く]{kiku} is a transitive verb so it takes を{wo} to mark objects, but
when using the potential form of a verb, i.e. [聞ける]{kikeru}, the particle
を{wo} changes to が{ga}. You can find plenty of posts here discussing this
change, [as @aguijonazo
commented](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100427/why-use-ga-not-
wo#comment163526_100427). You can also find instances where を{wo} is used
instead of が{ga} to mark the object of a potential verb, but in general the
rule is that **potential verbs take が{ga}**. Using the previous potential
verbs as an example:

> [ジュース]{juusu} **[を]{wo}** [飲む]{nomu} ( [I] drink juice)

> [お酒]{osake} **[が]{ga}** [飲めない]{nomenai}。 ( [I] **can't** drink alcohol)

> [ラジオ]{rajio} **を** [聞く]{kiku}。 ( [I] listen to the radio)

> [日本]{nihon} [に]{ni} [いながら]{inagara}、[フランス語]{furansugo} [の]{no} [ラジオ]{rajio}
> [番組]{bangumi} **[が]{ga}** [聞ける]{kikeru}。 ( [You] **can** listen to radio
> programs in French while in Japan)

As @aguijonazo [pointed
out](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100427/why-use-ga-not-
wo#comment163526_100427), you [can also find
instances](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/609) where を{wo} is
used instead of が{ga} to mark the object of a potential verb, but in general
the rule is that potential verbs take が{ga}.

#### 3. An example with [聞こえる]{kikoeru}

In order to highlight the difference between [聞ける]{kikeru} and [聞こえる]{kikoeru}
in your context, let's think of an scenario involving the radio where it makes
sense to use [聞こえる]{kikoeru} (to be heard, to hear) but not [聞ける]{kikeru} (to
be able to listen to):

> [ラジオ]{rajio} [で]{de} [ロック]{rokku} [の]{no} [番組]{bangumi} [を]{wo}
> [探していたら]{sagashiteitara}、[フランス語]{furansugo} [の]{no} [番組]{bangumi} [が]{ga}
> [聞こえてきた]{kikoetekita}。 While looking for a rock program in the radio, I
> could hear a French program.

As you can see, [聞こえる]{kikoeru} also takes the particle が{ga} but for
different reasons than [聞ける]{kikeru}, i.e. because [聞こえる]{kikoeru} is an
intransitive verb. Also note that even though I used "could" for the English
translation of this last example sentence, this is **not** the potential form
of [聞く]{kiku}, but the different verb [聞こえる]{kikoeru}.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-29T23:40:00.767
100437
2023-07-30T03:20:32.047
2023-07-30T03:20:32.047
32952
32952
100427
answer