听

聽

yǐn, tīng

口 + 斤

HSK 2.0Level 1

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

tīng (verb) to listen; to hear; to obey

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 厅 represents the sound. Simplified form of 聽. Before 听 was used as a simplified character, it was pronounced yǐn and was an archaic word for "smile".

About

The traditional character 聽 is a complex phono-semantic compound in which the ear radical 耳 combines with elements representing a straight heart and eyes, suggesting attentive, virtuous listening. The simplified form 听 has an entirely different origin: it was originally an obscure character pronounced yǐn and meaning "to smile", made up of the mouth radical 口 and the phonetic component 斤 (axe or unit of weight). This simpler character was later adopted as a phonetic loan to replace 聽, shifting the visual logic from a detailed semantic depiction of hearing to a straightforward phono-semantic borrowing that retains the mouth component.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我在听音乐。

Wǒ zài tīng yīnyuè.

I am listening to music.

她喜欢听广播。

Tā xǐhuān tīng guǎngbō.

She likes to listen to the radio.

我们听老师讲课。

Wǒmen tīng lǎoshī jiǎngkè.

We listen to the teacher's lecture.

你听过这首歌吗？

Nǐ tīngguò zhè shǒu gē ma?

Have you heard this song?

请仔细听我的建议。

Qǐng zǐxì tīng wǒ de jiànyì.

Please listen carefully to my advice.

听完新闻后，我明白了。

Tīng wán xīnwén hòu, wǒ míngbái le.

After listening to the news, I understood.

如果你认真听，就能学会。

Rúguǒ nǐ rènzhēn tīng, jiù néng xuéhuì.

If you listen carefully, you can learn.

听说明天开会，但还没确认。

Tīngshuō míngtiān kāihuì, dàn hái méi quèrèn.

It is said that the meeting is tomorrow, but it hasn't been confirmed yet.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 斤

听