耳根 (ěr gēn) — base of the earlobe (the part where the ear attaches to the head); (Buddhism) the ear as a sense organ, one of the six roots of sensory experience

Definition

Literally the base of the ear, but as a set phrase 耳根软 means 'easily swayed by what one hears' and 耳根清净 means 'peace and quiet'. The Buddhist sense refers to the ear as one of the six sense roots.

noun
base of the earlobe (the part where the ear attaches to the head)(Buddhism) the ear as a sense organ, one of the six roots of sensory experience

Examples

  • ，耳根。
    Tā xǐ huan dài dà ěr huán, ěr gēn dōu mó hóng le.
    She likes wearing big earrings, and the base of her earlobes have turned red from rubbing.
  • 耳根，。
    Tā ěr gēn tài ruǎn, bié rén shuō shén me tā dōu xìn.
    He's too easily influenced — he believes whatever others say.
  • ，耳根。
    Hái zi zhōng yú shuì le, wǒ kě yǐ qīng jìng yí xià ěr gēn le.
    The child finally fell asleep — now I can have some peace and quiet.

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ěrear
根gēnbase/root

耳 (ear) + 根 (base/root) names the base where the ear attaches.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn根gēn(r)
Same sound today

根 pairs 木 (tree/wood), pointing to plant roots, with 艮 as a sound part.

Open 根 →

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