さえずる
さえずる
verb (godan, intransitive)
to chirp; to twitter; to warble
1.
to chirp; to twitter; to warble
The melodic singing or chirping of birds, especially small songbirds.
小鳥がさえずっている。
A small bird is chirping.
春になると鳥のさえずりが聞こえる。
When spring comes, you can hear birds singing.
2.
to chatter; to prattle
To talk rapidly and continuously, often about trivial matters (sometimes mildly derogatory).
女の子たちが楽しそうにさえずっていた。
The girls were chattering away happily.
TRANSITIVITY:
Intransitive verb (自動詞). No pair verb.
KANJI:
Can be written as 囀る, though hiragana is more common.
USAGE:
Primarily used for the melodic singing of small birds. When used for people (sense 2), it often has a slightly dismissive nuance, comparing chatter to bird sounds.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 鳥がさえずる (birds chirp)
- 小鳥がさえずる (small birds sing)
- さえずりを聞く (to listen to birdsong)
- さえずりの声 (chirping voice)
RELATED NOUN:
さえずり - chirping, birdsong, twitter
- 鳥のさえずり (bird's song)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 鳴く - to cry/call (general animal sounds)
- 歌う - to sing (for people, or poetically for birds)
- ちゅんちゅん - chirp chirp (onomatopoeia for sparrows)