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听觉 (tīng jué) — sense of hearing; auditory perception

Definition

觉 marks the five physical senses (sight, hearing, etc.) — 听觉 specifically names the sense of hearing itself. For how well you hear or your listening ability in a language, use 听力.

noun
sense of hearingauditory perception

Examples

  • 听觉。
    Māo de tīng jué bǐ rén de líng mǐn dé duō.
    Cats have a much keener sense of hearing than humans.
  • 听觉。
    Cháng qī dài ěr jī kě néng sǔn hài tīng jué.
    Long-term use of headphones can damage your hearing.
  • 听觉，。
    Tā de tīng jué tè bié hǎo, néng tīng chū xì wēi de chā bié.
    Her sense of hearing is especially good; she can detect subtle differences.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

听tīnghear
觉juésense

The sense of hearing combines 听 'hear' with 觉 'sense'.

Characters in this word

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Senses

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