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听话 (tīng huà) — obedient, to do what one is told

Definition

听话 describes following instructions — typically used for children or pets, and loosely for subordinates. 乖 is more affectionate (praising a well-behaved child); 顺从 is more formal and emphasizes yielding to authority.

adjective
obedientto do what one is told

Examples

  • 听话，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù hěn tīng huà, cóng bù rě bà ba mā ma shēng qì.
    He has been very obedient since childhood and never makes his parents angry.
  • 听话，。
    Zhè zhī gǒu fēi cháng tīng huà, ràng tā zài nǎ r shuì jiù zài nǎ r shuì.
    This dog is very obedient; wherever you tell it to sleep, it sleeps.
  • ，听话。
    Zài gōng sī lǐ, tīng huà de yuán gōng gèng róng yì dé dào tí bá.
    In the company, obedient employees are more likely to be promoted.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

听tīnglisten
话huàwords

The 听 listening to 话 what is said gives the sense of being obedient.

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
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