窃听 (qiè tīng) — to eavesdrop, to wiretap, to bug

Definition

verb

to eavesdropto wiretapto bug

窃听。
Tā tōu tōu de zài mén kǒu qiè tīng.
He secretly eavesdropped at the door.
窃听。
Jǐng chá qiè tīng le tā de diàn huà.
The police wiretapped his phone.
窃听。
Bú yào qiè tīng bié rén de tán huà.
Don't eavesdrop on others' conversations.

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.

窃qièsecretly

窃 means secretly and 听 means listen, so the word conveys listening without being seen.

Characters in this word

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 竊; 窃 is its simplified writing.

For 窃, the traditional form 竊 combines 米 and 攴 with 禼, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in