Meaning
(surname); hear; sniff at
Chinese: 姓氏。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “wen” becomes a different word in each tone. 闻 is the 2nd 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
- 新闻xīn wénnews
- 闻名wén míngwell-known; famous; renowned; eminent
- 举世闻名jǔ shì wén míngworld-famous (idiom)
- 见闻jiàn wénwhat one has seen and heard; knowledge; one's experience
- 喜闻乐见xǐ wén lè jiànto love to hear and see (idiom); well received; to one's liking
More Words
Example Sentence
我从报纸上看到了这条新闻。Wǒ cóng bào zhǐ shàng kàn dào le zhè tiáo xīn wén.I saw this news in the newspaper.
我WǒI从cóngfrom报纸bào zhǐnewspaper上shàngon看到kàn dàoto see了le(completed action)这zhèthis条tiáostrip新闻xīn wénnews。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A door (门) around an ear (耳): an ear at the gate catching sounds. It means ‘to hear’ (and ‘to smell’). Simplified from 聞.
A way to remember it
An ear at the gate — to hear.
Easy to confuse with
- 问‘To ask’: a door around a mouth (口) instead of an ear.