听听 (tīng tīng) — to listen for a bit; to have a listen

Definition

听听 is a light, casual verb reduplication: 听 done briefly or casually — a 'quick listen' rather than serious or careful listening. The repeating form (A-A) softens the action, so it fits suggestions like 'let's hear what he says' better than plain 听.

bound form

to listen for a bitto have a listen

Examples

听听，。
Nǐ tīng tīng zhè ge yīn yuè, hěn hǎo tīng.
Listen to this music for a bit; it sounds great.
听听。
Wǒ men tīng tīng tā zěn me shuō.
Let's listen to what he has to say.
听听。
Qǐng tīng tīng wǒ de jiàn yì.
Please listen to my suggestion for a moment.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

听tīnglisten

The action 「听」 is doubled to suggest listening briefly.

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.

耳耳ěrear
口口kǒumouth(s)

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 →