中听 (zhōng tīng) — pleasant to the ear, agreeable to hear (of speech, music, etc.)

Definition

中听 means something sounds pleasant or agreeable to hear — usually applied to words, advice, or music, not people's voices directly. It often carries a judgment tone, as in '这话不中听' ('harsh but true').

adjective
pleasant to the earagreeable to hear (of speech, music, etc.)

Examples

  • 中听，。
    Tā shuō huà hěn zhōng tīng, dà jiā dōu xǐ huan tīng tā jiǎng.
    His words are very pleasant to hear; everyone likes listening to him.
  • 中听，。
    Zhè huà suī rán bù zhōng tīng, dàn què shì shì shí.
    These words may not be pleasant to hear, but they are the truth.
  • 中听，。
    Zhè shǒu gē de xuán lǜ hěn zhōng tīng, ràng rén fàng sōng.
    The melody of this song is very pleasant to hear and makes people relax.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

中zhōngsuit
听tīnglisten

中 means to suit or hit, and 听 is listening, so 中听 is pleasant to hear.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聽; 听 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 聽 has 耳 (ear) and 口 (mouth), used for listening; the simplified 听 is a later shortened form unrelated to that picture.

Open 听 →

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