have heard of
have heard of — idiom
1. to be aware that a particular person, thing, or place exists, usually because yo
to be aware that a particular person, thing, or place exists, usually because you have seen, read, or been told about them, even if you do not know any specific details
Jin asked his classmates whether they had heard of the writer Haruki Murakami.
question form: whether-clause after asked
Before the training centre opened, the villagers had never heard of a computer.
negative form with never + past perfect
Joshua had heard of the restaurant from a colleague, so he booked a table for Friday night.
Shirin asked the librarian whether she had heard of any good science books for children.
Tariro had heard of the singer but could not name any of her songs.
- know of
very similar meaning but suggests slightly more certainty about the existence; 'know of' can also imply you have some basic information, while 'have heard of' only requires having heard the name mentioned
- be aware of
more formal; suggests conscious knowledge rather than just having heard a mention
- come across
implies encountering information about something by chance, often in reading or research
- be unaware of
complete lack of knowledge about someone or something's existence
- be unfamiliar with
suggests not knowing something, but can also mean lacking detailed knowledge
文法句型
have/has heard of [someone/something]
用法筆記
The phrase is almost always used in the present perfect tense (have/has heard of) rather than the simple present. The simple past (heard of) is uncommon and usually implies the first time you learned about something. This idiom expresses passive awareness — knowing that something exists — not detailed knowledge.