# 相手の言葉



## JapanForever

Hi there, 
Could someone help me with this sentence please?
*相手の言葉*を聞いて, 彼は思った.
Okay so the context is two people who are talking (a father and a son possibly, in any case two people who are close) and that's the son who is thinking this sentence.
I wonder what *does 相手の言葉* mean? I translated it word by word and it turns out "the words of an opponent/party". However it doesn't seem to make sense there.
Can someone help me there?


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## SoLaTiDoberman

*相手の言葉を聞いて, 彼は思った.

**In this context, we would think that he is talking with a person face to face.
In other words, it should be a dialogue between he and a person.

"Hearing what the person said to him, he thought (that .................). "
"When he heard the person's words, he thought ** (that .................). "

**I think it does make sense.
Why don't you think it makes sense?*


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## kyotan

相手の言葉 in "相手の言葉を聞いて, 彼は思った." means "what he said."


So, the entire sentence means "He thought (blah blah), after [hearing what his son said. / listening to his son.]"


I think another sentence that actually says what he thought comes right before or after "相手の言葉を聞いて, 彼は思った." such as:


"He cares about me a lot. (<==this is an example of the part that describes what he thought)" He thought, after listening to his son. 

The son talks first.
After listening to his son talk, the father thinks something about it, or about something.
(Cross-posted with SoLaTiDoberman)


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## JapanForever

I see. But in this context isn't it more " listening to the person's world, he thought."? And yes they are talking face to face.
I just wondered because I thought *相手 *was enemy usually.


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## JapanForever

For more context, the son is thinking right after this sentence "it's fine". 
So I guess "What he said, he thought it's fine"?


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## kyotan

相手just means "the other person you are doing something with" or "the other person".


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## kyotan

JF, I would need more of the actual sentences in Japanese to have a better understanding about the context.


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## JapanForever

Okay that sounds clearer. But about 聞いて is it listening or hearing in this context?


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## JapanForever

As for more context, I can just tell you that before this, the son asked to his father a question. His father diesn't know about the answer. The son deep down criticized him but finally he chose not to point it out. Then, there is this sentence and he is saying at last "That's fine. (それでいい、 と.)


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## kyotan

Can be more like "listening to what he said" because it it a conversation where you pay attention to what the other person has to say, rather than mindlessly "hearing" it like hear the birds sing, but it depends on the context, I guess. Can be either listening, or hearing, or anywhere in between.


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## JapanForever

Okay thanks.


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