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耳边风 (ěr biān fēng) — unheeded advice; words that are ignored

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'words that go in one ear and out the other' — advice someone hears but completely ignores. Usually paired with 当 (treat as) in the pattern 当∼.

noun
unheeded advicewords that are ignored

Examples

  • 耳边风。
    Tā bǎ fù mǔ de quàn gào dāng ěr biān fēng.
    He treats his parents' advice as unheeded advice.
  • 耳边风。
    Zhè xiē huà nǐ qiān wàn bié dāng ěr biān fēng.
    Don't ever treat these words as unheeded advice.
  • 耳边风，。
    Lǎo shī de huà bù néng dāng ěr biān fēng, yào rèn zhēn tīng.
    You can't treat the teacher's words as unheeded advice; listen carefully.

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.

耳边beside the ear
耳ěrear边biānside
偏正Modifier + head
风fēngwind

耳边 means beside the ear and 风 is wind, so together they suggest words blown past and ignored.

Characters in this word

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

耳 is drawn as a picture of an ear.

Open 耳 →

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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