听 tīng / tìng — listen; hear; obey; let; allow
我喜欢一边走路一边听音乐。Wǒ xǐ huan yì biān zǒu lù yì biān tīng yīn yuè.I like to listen to music while walking.
Common words: 听到 (tīng dào)、听见 (tīng jiàn)、好听 (hǎo tīng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "hear"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "hear", including 听 (tīng / tìng), 闻 (wén). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "hear" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 听 (tīng / tìng), 闻 (wén) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span tīng, tìng, wén — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 听 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 听 tīng / tìnglisten; hear; obey; let; allowUseful words: 听到, 听见
- 闻 wén(surname); hear; sniff atUseful words: 新闻, 闻名
Common words for these 2 "hear" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 听 (tīng / tìng) — so "hear" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "hear".
闻 wén — (surname); hear; sniff at
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.
Common words: 新闻 (xīn wén)、闻名 (wén míng)、举世闻名 (jǔ shì wén míng)
All 2 characters
Open 听、闻 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.