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偷听 (tōu tīng) — to eavesdrop, to bug

Definition

A reduplicated-VB verb meaning to secretly listen in (a conversation, call, or room). Built from 偷 (steal/secretly) + 听 (listen), so the secrecy is built in — no 秘密 needed.

verb
to eavesdropto bug

Examples

  • 偷听。
    Nǐ bié zài mén wài tōu tīng wǒ men shuō huà.
    Don't eavesdrop on our conversation from outside the door.
  • 偷听。
    Tā tōu tōu zài huì yì shì zhuāng le qiè tīng qì lái tōu tīng.
    He secretly planted a bug in the meeting room to eavesdrop.
  • 偷听。
    Tā fā xiàn yǒu rén zài tōu tīng tā de diàn huà.
    She found someone was bugging her phone.

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.

偷tōusecretly
听tīnglisten

偷 means secretly and 听 means listen, so the word describes listening in secret.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

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 →
Appears in
Senses

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