[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Anatomy-and-Living \ #Facial-Actions # 听 tīng to listen, to hear ## Components [[口 kǒu]] [[口 (kǒu)]] [[斤 jīn]] [[斤 (jīn)]] ## Meaning ## History "听" is a compound ideograph and a phono-semantic character. In oracle bone script, it depicts an ear next to one or two mouths speaking, indicating that sound is being transmitted directly to the ear. Thus, the original meaning of "听" is to perceive sounds with the ears. In traditional Chinese, "听" is written as "聽," which consists of "耳" (ear) and "王" (king), suggesting that the ear receives important information. Over time, "聽" evolved into the modern character "听." "听" is extended to mean "to listen to" or "to accept." As a noun, it refers to the ear or the sense of hearing. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[听oracular 1.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[听bronze.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[听 seal.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[听 cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[听 reg.svg]]