喋る

喋る

Japanese

Kanji in this term
喋
しゃべ Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Etymology

Unknown.

Possible analyses include:

• Related to しゃぶしゃぶ (shabushabu), itself apparently an onomatopoeia.
• Derived as intensifying prefix しゃ (sha) attaching to a root form related to べりべり (beriberi, “talkatively; a talkative person”), べらべら (berabera, “bubblingly; talkatively”), べろ (bero, “tongue”).

Listed in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.[1] Earliest appearance may be in the early 1300s during the Kamakura period.[2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) しゃべ​る [shàbéꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [2])[3]
• IPA^(key): [ɕa̠be̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

喋(しゃべ)る • (shaberu) godan (stem 喋(しゃべ)り (shaberi), past 喋(しゃべ)った (shabetta))

1. to talk, to speak, to chat, to chatter

   私(わたし)は日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)を喋(しゃべ)ることができる。

   Watashi wa Nihongo o shaberu koto ga dekiru.

   I can speak Japanese.

   彼(かれ)は２(に)時(じ)間(かん)立(た)て続(つづ)けに喋(しゃべ)った。

   Kare wa ni jikan tate tsuzuke ni shabetta.

   He rattled on for two hours on end.

2. to let secrets out

   このことはめったに喋(しゃべ)ってもらっては困(こま)るよ。

   Kono koto wa metta ni shabette moratte wa komaru yo.

   Be sure to keep your mouth shut about this.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "喋る" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	喋ら	しゃべら	shabera
Continuative (連用形)	喋り	しゃべり	shaberi
Terminal (終止形)	喋る	しゃべる	shaberu
Attributive (連体形)	喋る	しゃべる	shaberu
Hypothetical (仮定形)	喋れ	しゃべれ	shabere
Imperative (命令形)	喋れ	しゃべれ	shabere
Key constructions
Passive	喋られる	しゃべられる	shaberareru
Causative	喋らせる 喋らす	しゃべらせる しゃべらす	shaberaseru shaberasu
Potential	喋れる	しゃべれる	shabereru
Volitional	喋ろう	しゃべろう	shaberō
Negative	喋らない	しゃべらない	shaberanai
Negative continuative	喋らず	しゃべらず	shaberazu
Formal	喋ります	しゃべります	shaberimasu
Perfective	喋った	しゃべった	shabetta
Conjunctive	喋って	しゃべって	shabette
Hypothetical conditional	喋れば	しゃべれば	shabereba

Synonyms

• (speak, talk): 話(はな)す (hanasu)

Derived terms

• お喋(しゃべ)り (o-shaberi)

References

1. 1603, 日葡辞書: パリ本 / Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan) (in Japanese and Portuguese), 1976 reprint, Tōkyō: Bensei Publishing, text here, right-hand column.
2. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
3. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN