百听不厌 (bǎi tīng bù yàn) — never get tired of hearing (a song, story, etc.)

Definition

Idiom meaning 'never tiring to hear' — used to praise music, stories, or talks that stay fresh even after many listens.

idiom

never get tired of hearing (a song, story, etc.)

百听不厌，。
Zhè shǒu gē zhēn shì bǎi tīng bù yàn, wǒ měi tiān dōu xiǎng tīng.
This song is truly never tiring to hear — I want to listen to it every day.
百听不厌，。
Tā de gù shi bǎi tīng bù yàn, měi cì jiǎng dōu yǒu xīn gǎn jué.
His stories are never boring to hear; every time he tells them, they feel new.
百听不厌，。
Zhè shǒu lǎo gē bǎi tīng bù yàn, yǐ jīng liú xíng le jǐ shí nián.
This old song never gets old to listen to — it's been popular for decades.

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.

一白百

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides 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.

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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 厭; 厌 is its simplified writing.

厂猒厭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

猒

猒yàn厭yàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 厭 combines 厂 as the meaning part with 猒 as the sound part; the simplified 厌 is a later abbreviation.