耳际 (ěr jì) — the area around one's ears; (literary) in one's ears (referring to sounds or whispers)

Definition

Literary noun meaning 'around one's ears' — used for sounds, whispers, or breezes passing by the ear. Almost exclusively found in writing; in speech, just say 耳边.

noun
the area around one's ears(literary) in one's ears (referring to sounds or whispers)

Examples

  • 耳际。
    Nà shú xi de xuán lǜ jiǔ jiǔ huí dàng zài ěr jì.
    That familiar melody lingered in my ears for a long time.
  • 耳际。
    Tā qīng shēng zài tā ěr jì shuō le jǐ jù huà.
    She whispered a few words in his ear.
  • 耳际。
    Yí zhèn liáng fēng qīng qīng fú guò ěr jì.
    A cool breeze gently brushed past my ears.

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
际jìedge

耳 means ear and 际 means edge or vicinity; together they refer to the area around the ears.

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 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì際⁰jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.

Open 际 →

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