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聩 (traditional form: 聵) is a phono-semantic compound. The left-side semantic radical 耳 ('ear') links the character to hearing and the auditory system, while the right-side component 贵 (貴) serves as phonetic indicator, supplying the pronunciation without adding meaning. Its primary meaning is deafness, particularly congenital deafness, and it appears most often in classical texts or fixed idioms describing people unable to hear, or, figuratively, those who are stubbornly ignorant and refuse to listen to reason.
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