听见
听listen见perceive the result=hear
听
听 (tīng) Chinese Character: to listen; hear
A sound comes from speech, and your attention receives it as 听.
Practice 听 in the interactive lessonChinese character story: Receiving a Sound
听 (tīng) covers both “listen” and “hear.” Use 听 when you intentionally listen to a teacher, music, or another person. Add 见 to form 听见, “to hear” or “be able to hear.” English separates “listen” from “hear,” but Chinese often uses the same core character and lets the phrase show the difference. Remember the first tone: tīng stays high and level.
🧩 Word buildingSee what every part contributes
Chinese words often combine short meaning clues. Fixed expressions are clearly marked so you do not translate them too literally.
听说
听hear说say=hear that; be told
Chinese character origin and etymology
听 is the simplified form used for 聽. Standard character analysis treats modern 听 as a sound-and-meaning form with 口 and 斤, while the traditional character more directly preserves the historical connection with hearing.
The simplified character places 口 on the left and 斤 on the right in a balanced seven-stroke form. 听 contains 口 and 斤. These parts act like clues: a component may suggest a meaning category, a pronunciation, or simply preserve part of the character's historical structure.
Chinese character stroke order and structure
听 is written with 7 strokes. Learn the complete stroke sequence in the interactive lesson, then write the character from memory before checking your answer.
- 口 — mouth or speech — points toward spoken sound
- 斤 — phonetic clue — helps form the simplified character
Common usage and sentence patterns
The examples below show 听 in complete beginner-friendly sentences. Read each sentence aloud, notice where the character appears, and then replace one noun or number to create a new sentence of your own.
请听老师说。
Please listen to the teacher.
我喜欢听音乐。
I like listening to music.
你听见了吗？
Did you hear it?
What is the Chinese character for listen?
The Chinese character for “listen” is 听 (tīng). It uses the first tone. Say 听音乐 (tīng yīnyuè) for “listen to music” and 听老师说 (tīng lǎoshī shuō) for “listen to the teacher speak.”
Related words show the result of listening: 听见 (tīngjiàn) means “hear” or successfully perceive a sound, while 听懂 (tīngdǒng) means “understand what you hear.” Compare 听 with other everyday actions in the essential Chinese verbs collection.
Use the Chinese listening practice guide to train sound-only recognition, shadowing, short dictation, and spaced review.
Learning tips for 听
Learn the reading as one unit: tīng, with the first tone: high and level. Avoid memorizing the letters without the tone mark. Say the syllable, recall the English meaning “to listen; hear,” and write the 7 strokes from memory.
Because 听 contains reusable components, identify those clues before memorizing the whole shape. Compare it with 耳 (ěr, ear); 口 (kǒu, mouth); 说 (shuō, to speak). Similar characters are easier to remember when their different parts and meanings are studied side by side.
Quick review checklist
- Can you recognize 听 without pinyin?
- Can you say tīng with the correct tone and explain “to listen; hear”?
- Can you write all 7 strokes in order?
- Can you use 听 in one short sentence?
Related characters
Learn 听 in a themed collection
Compare this character with related beginner words. A themed path helps you notice useful pairs, word-building patterns, and everyday contexts.
Continue learning Chinese characters
Use the Chinese radicals and components guide to understand reusable parts, the stroke order guide to improve handwriting, and the HSK 1 character overview to choose your next beginner lesson.
Sources and editorial note
HanziStory separates documented character history from modern memory stories. Historical-form images are shown only when a matching source file is available; missing stages are skipped rather than invented. Stroke practice uses HanziWriter data.
Last updated: August 16, 2026. Read our sources, editorial method, and correction policy.