空耳(そらみみ)

そらみみ
noun
mishearing, imagined sounds
cognition
1. mishearing, hearing things that aren't there
Hearing something incorrectly, or perceiving a sound that was not actually made. Can refer to both genuine auditory mistakes and the popular internet phenomenon of hearing foreign-language lyrics as funny Japanese phrases.
空耳(そらみみ)かもしれない。
Maybe I was just hearing things.
誰(だれ)かに呼(よ)ばれた気(き)がしたが、空耳(そらみみ)だった。
I thought someone called me, but I was just hearing things.
外国語(がいこくご)の歌(うた)が日本語(にほんご)に聞(き)こえる空耳(そらみみ)がネットで話題(わだい)になった。
Mishearings where foreign songs sound like Japanese became a hot topic online.

Usage

空耳(そらみみ) literally combines 空(そら) (empty/sky) and 耳(みみ) (ear), suggesting ears that hear what isn't there. In everyday conversation, it often appears in the expression 空耳(そらみみ)かな or 空耳(そらみみ)だった when someone realizes they misheard something.

Cultural note

The word gained pop-culture prominence through the long-running TV Asahi segment "空耳(そらみみ)アワー" on the show "タモリ倶楽部(くらぶ)," where viewers submitted clips of foreign songs that sounded like Japanese phrases.

Common collocations

  • 空耳(そらみみ)かな: I wonder if I'm hearing things
  • 空耳(そらみみ)だった: it was just my imagination
  • 空耳(そらみみ)アワー: Soramimi Hour (TV segment)
general
Added 2026.2.27 12:09 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
13500/13762_soramimi