Meaning
ear
Chinese: 耳朵;听觉器官。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “er” becomes a different word in each tone. 耳 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 耳朵ěr duoear; handle (on a cup)
- 耳机ěr jīheadphones; earphones; telephone receiver
- 耳环ěr huánearring
- 耳光ěr guānga slap on the face
- 刺耳cì ěrear-piercing
More Words
Example Sentence
他的耳朵很灵，听力很好。Tā de ěr duo hěn líng, tīng lì hěn hǎo.His ears are sharp and his hearing is good.
他Tāhe的deof耳朵ěr duoear很hěnvery灵língquick，听力tīng lìhearing很hěnvery好hǎogood。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of an ear, with the outer rim and the inner folds. It means ‘ear’ and is the radical in 闻, 取, 聊.
A way to remember it
An upright outline with folds inside — an ear.
Easy to confuse with
- 取‘To take’: an ear (耳) plus a hand (又) — in old warfare, taking an ear as proof.