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耳边 (ěr biān) — beside the ear; near the ear

Definition

noun
beside the earnear the ear

Examples

  • 耳边。
    Tā zài wǒ ěr biān shuō huà.
    She spoke in my ear.
  • 耳边。
    Yīn yuè zài ěr biān xiǎng qǐ.
    Music sounded in my ear.
  • 耳边。
    Tā kào jìn wǒ de ěr biān.
    He approached my ear.

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
边biānside

耳 'ear' and 边 'side' combine to mean the side near the ear.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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