(あんしょう)

あんしょう
noun, suru verb
recitation from memory; reciting by heart
1. recitation from memory; reciting by heart
Speaking or performing a text, poem, or passage from memory without looking at the original. Common in educational settings.
()暗唱(あんしょう)する。
To recite a poem from memory.
英語(えいご)のスピーチを暗唱(あんしょう)して発表(はっぴょう)した。
I memorized and delivered the English speech.
()どもの(ころ)(おぼ)えた百人一首(ひゃくにんいっしゅ)(いま)でも暗唱(あんしょう)できる。
I can still recite from memory the Hundred Poems I learned as a child.

Also written as 暗誦(あんしょう) with the same meaning. The kanji (しょう) means to chant or recite, while (あん) means from memory (without looking).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • ()暗唱(あんしょう)する (to recite a poem by heart)
  • 暗唱(あんしょう)テスト (recitation test)
  • 暗唱(あんしょう)できる (to be able to recite from memory)
  • すらすら暗唱(あんしょう)する (to recite fluently from memory)

USAGE NOTE:
Common in Japanese schools, where students are sometimes asked to memorize and recite passages from textbooks, poems, or classical literature. Distinct from 朗読(ろうどく) (reading aloud), which involves reading from a text.