言い合う
いいあう
verb
to quarrel; to argue with each other; to say to each other; to exchange words
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 言い合う | 言い合わない |
| Present polite | 言い合います | 言い合いません |
| Past | 言い合った | 言い合わなかった |
| Past polite | 言い合いました | 言い合いませんでした |
| て form | 言い合って | 言い合わなくて |
| ている present | 言い合っている | 言い合っていない |
| ている polite | 言い合っています | 言い合っていません |
| ている past | 言い合っていた | 言い合っていなかった |
| ている past polite | 言い合っていました | 言い合っていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 言い合えば | 言い合わなければ |
| Conditional たら | 言い合ったら | 言い合わなかったら |
| Volitional | 言い合おう | — |
| Volitional polite | 言い合いましょう | — |
| Potential | 言い合える | 言い合えない |
| Passive | 言い合われる | 言い合われない |
| Causative | 言い合わせる | 言い合わせない |
| Imperative | 言い合え | 言い合うな |
1.
to quarrel; to argue with each other
To engage in a verbal dispute where both parties exchange heated words back and forth.
兄弟でよく言い合う。
The siblings often argue with each other.
くだらないことで言い合うのはやめよう。
Let's stop arguing over trivial things.
二人は些細なことで言い合いになり、周りの人たちが心配した。
The two got into an argument over something trivial, and the people around them grew worried.
2.
to say to each other; to exchange words
To mutually express the same thing to one another, such as greetings, well-wishes, or shared sentiments.
「おめでとう」と言い合った。
They said 'Congratulations' to each other.
友人と冗談を言い合って笑った。
My friend and I exchanged jokes and laughed.
卒業式の日、クラスメートたちと「また会おうね」と言い合って別れた。
On graduation day, my classmates and I parted ways saying 'Let's meet again' to each other.
A compound verb formed from 言う (to say) + 合う (to do together/mutually). The 合う suffix adds reciprocity — both parties are speaking. In practice, sense 1 (arguing) is more common than sense 2 (exchanging words).
USAGE:
- Sense 1 often appears as the noun form 言い合い (an argument, a quarrel)
- Sense 2 is typically used with a quoted phrase or specific content being exchanged
- The subject is usually plural or implies two or more people
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 言い合いになる: to get into an argument
- 言い合いをする: to have an argument
- 冗談を言い合う: to exchange jokes
- 悪口を言い合う: to trade insults
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 口論する: a more formal word for arguing verbally
- 喧嘩する: to fight or quarrel; broader than 言い合う, which is limited to verbal exchange
- 話し合う: to discuss; implies a calmer, more productive exchange