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, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Stroke order
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Stroke order (Japan)
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This character has a slight difference between Chinese and Japanese forms.
- In Chinese: 聞
- in Japanese: 聞
- in Korean: 聞
Han character
聞 (Kangxi radical 128, 耳+8, 14 strokes, cangjie input 日弓尸十 (ANSJ), four-corner 77401, composition ⿵門耳)
Derived characters
References
- Kangxi Dictionary: page 968, character 11
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 29104
- Dae Jaweon: page 1418, character 9
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4294, character 12
- Unihan data for U+805E
Chinese
Glyph origin
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Old Chinese
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蔄
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*roːs, *mruːns
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闅
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*min, *mrɯn, *mɯn
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閩
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*mrɯn, *mɯn
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蕄
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*mɯːŋ, *mrɯːŋ
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門
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*mɯːn
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捫
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*mɯːn
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悶
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*mɯːns
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聞
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*mɯn, *mɯns
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閿
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*mɯn
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問
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*mɯns
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Phono-semantic compound (形聲/形声, OC *mɯn, *mɯns) : phonetic 門 (OC *mɯːn) + semantic 耳 (“ear”). Compare 問 (OC *mɯns).
Etymology
Probably derived from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-nam (“to smell”), whence Tibetan མནམ་པ (mnam pa, “to smell of”), Tibetan སྣོམ་པ (snom pa, “to smell”), Jingpho manam (mə³¹ nam⁵⁵, “smell”), Burmese နမ် (nam, “to smell”), Burmese နံ (nam, “to stink”) (Schuessler, 2007). The inversion of n and m in Chinese is the result of labial dissimilation or prefix-preemption.
In almost all major Tibeto-Burman languages, this etymon means only "to smell". One or other factors may
help explain the application of "to hear" in Chinese. The semantic affinities of hear ~ smell have a parallel in Tibeto-Burman *na "ear ~ nose" and hence perhaps in Sino-Tibetan (see *r/g-na (“ear”)). The Chinese stem may have converged with a Mon-Khmer etymon (cf. Proto-Monic *smaaɲ (“to inquire”) (ibid.). Also note Tibetan མཉན་པ (mnyan pa, “to listen to; to hear”) which is phonologically quite close to Chinese.
Pronunciation 2 ("be heard about; renowned; fame") is a derivation of pronunciation 1, with passive suffix *-s (ibid.).
問 (OC *mɯns, “to ask”) is the exoactive derivation of pronunciation 1 with suffix *-s, literally "let (me) hear" (ibid.).
Pronunciation 1
Note:
- 3men - colloquial;
- 3ven - literary.
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
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Character
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聞
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Reading #
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1/1
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Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
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wén
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Middle Chinese
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‹ mjun ›
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Old Chinese
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/*mu/
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English
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hear (v.)
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Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;
* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
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Zhengzhang system (2003)
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Character
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聞
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Reading #
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1/2
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No.
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8963
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Phonetic component
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門
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Rime group
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文
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Rime subdivision
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1
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Corresponding MC rime
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文
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Old Chinese
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/*mɯn/
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Definitions
聞
- (literary or Jiangyong Tuhua) to hear; to listen
- 百聞不如一見/百闻不如一见 ― bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn ― seeing is believing (literally, “hearing something one hundred times is not as good as seeing it once”)
吾見其人矣,吾聞其語矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
吾见其人矣,吾闻其语矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Wú jiàn qí rén yǐ, wú wén qí yǔ yǐ.
- I have seen such men, as I have heard such words.
不聞機杼聲,惟聞女嘆息。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
不闻机杼声,惟闻女叹息。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: 《木蘭詩》 (Ballad of Mulan)
- Bù wén jīzhù shēng, wéi wén nǚ tànxī.
- The loom’s sound could not be heard over the girl’s sighs.
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聞得妹你話死咯,我實在見悲傷。 [Cantonese, trad.]
闻得妹你话死咯,我实在见悲伤。 [Cantonese, simp.]- man4 dak1 mui6-2 nei5 waa6 si2 lo3, ngo5 sat6 zoi6 gin3 bei1 soeng1.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- to smell; to detect; to get a sniff at
- 聞味道/闻味道 ― wén wèidào ― to smell the scent
我乜嘢都聞唔到嘅? [Cantonese, trad.]
我乜嘢都闻唔到嘅? [Cantonese, simp.]- ngo5 mat1 je5 dou1 man4 m4 dou3 ge2?
- Why don't I smell anything?
- (literary) to spread; to transmit
- (literary) to be famous
在邦必聞,在家必聞。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
在邦必闻,在家必闻。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Zài bāng bì wén, zài jiā bì wén.
- It is to be heard of through the state, to be heard of throughout his clan."
廉頗為趙將伐齊,大破之,取晉陽,拜為上卿,以勇氣聞於諸侯。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
廉颇为赵将伐齐,大破之,取晋阳,拜为上卿,以勇气闻于诸侯。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
- Lián Pō wéi Zhào jiāng fá Qí, dà pò zhī, qǔ Jìnyáng, bài wéi shàngqīng, yǐ yǒngqì wén yú zhūhóu.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- knowledge; expertise
- news; message
- 新聞/新闻 ― xīnwén ― news
- 奇聞/奇闻 ― qíwén ― thrilling or fantastic story
- a surname
- 聞一多/闻一多 ― Wén Yīduō ― Wen Yiduo (Chinese poet)
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of
聽 (“to hear; to listen”)
Dialectal synonyms of
聞 (“to smell”)
Compounds
Pronunciation 2
Zhengzhang system (2003)
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Character
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聞
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Reading #
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2/2
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No.
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8968
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Phonetic component
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門
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Rime group
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文
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Rime subdivision
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1
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Corresponding MC rime
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問
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Old Chinese
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/*mɯns/
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Definitions
聞
- (literary) reputation; renown; prestige
- (literary) famous; renowned
Compounds
Japanese
Kanji
聞
(Second grade kyōiku kanji)
- hear
Readings
Compounds
Korean
Hanja
聞 (eumhun 들을 문 (deureul mun))
- hanja form? of 문 (“hear”)
Compounds
Vietnamese
Han character
聞: Hán Nôm readings: văn, vẳn
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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