Definitions

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

Etymology

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

About

The traditional character "聽", constructed with the "ear" radical alongside components implying attentive perception, has consistently denoted the act of hearing, with its form undergoing natural stylistic reductions in common handwriting over time. In contrast, the simpler graph "听" originally functioned as an independent character meaning to laugh or smile, a usage documented in classical texts but which gradually faded. Through a process of graphical borrowing driven by phonetic similarity and the desire for a less complex form, "听" was fully adopted to represent the concept of listening, thereby completely displacing its earlier meaning, and its structure, now comprising the "mouth" radical and the phonetic component "斤", reflects this reassigned role rather than its etymological origins.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我在音乐。

Wǒ zài tīng yīnyuè.

I am listening to music.

她喜欢广播。

Tā xǐhuān tīng guǎngbō.

She likes to listen to the radio.

我们老师讲课。

Wǒmen tīng lǎoshī jiǎngkè.

We listen to the teacher's lecture.

过这首歌吗?

Nǐ tīngguò zhè shǒu gē ma?

Have you heard this song?

请仔细我的建议。

Qǐng zǐxì tīng wǒ de jiànyì.

Please listen carefully to my advice.

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,就能学会。

Rúguǒ nǐ rènzhēn tīng, jiù néng xuéhuì.

If you listen carefully, you can learn.

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.