听 (tīng) means "to listen (to)" with 7 strokes, radical 口 (mouth), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to listen (to)
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The simplified form 听 is a modern creation and has no oracle bone ancestry of its own. The traditional form 聽 depicts the act of listening: it combines 耳 (ear) with 王 (here representing 壬, a phonetic component) and 㥁/悳 (a form linked to 德, virtue or attentiveness). Oracle bone versions of 聽 show an ear next to a mouth, depicting speech being received.
Form evolution
In bronze and seal scripts, 聽 grew additional components around the core 耳, eventually standardising to the 22-stroke traditional form. The PRC simplification scheme of the 1950s discarded almost all of this and reused 听, an older rare character originally meaning 'to smile' (口 + 斤 as phonetic). The result is that modern mainland 听 bears no visual trace of the ear.
How the meaning evolved
The original 聽 meant to hear or listen, and by extension to obey or heed, as in 听话 (obedient, literally 'listens to words'). It also developed administrative senses of judging or presiding, preserved in 听证 (hearing) and 听政 (to hold court). The simplified 听 inherited all of these meanings wholesale despite its different graphic origin.
Cultural note
Taiwan, Hong Kong, and most classical texts still use 聽, so HSK learners who only recognise 听 often stumble when reading traditional materials or older signage. The compound 听天由命 ('let heaven decide one's fate') shows the older sense of heeding rather than merely hearing.
Mnemonic
A mouth and an axe of weight — to listen carefully
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | tīng |
| Meanings | to listen (to) |
| Stroke count | 7 strokes |
| Radical | 口 (#30: mouth) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #603 most common |
Example sentences
我喜欢听音乐。
Wǒ xǐhuan tīng yīnyuè.
I like listening to music.
From 听 (HSK 1)
我向邻居打听了一下附近哪里有好的餐馆。
Wǒ xiàng línjū dǎting le yīxià fùjìn nǎlǐ yǒu hǎo de cānguǎn.
I inquired with my neighbor about where there are good restaurants nearby.
From 打听 (HSK 5)
她的歌声很动听。
Tā de gēshēng hěn dòngtīng.
Her singing is very pleasant to listen to.
From 动听 (HSK 6)
Words containing 听
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.