风闻 (fēng wén) — to learn through hearsay; to get wind of

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to learn through hearsay, to get wind of'. Less common in speech than 听说; the two can take the same object, but 听说 also covers a broader range of sources.

verb
to learn through hearsayto get wind of

Examples

  • 风闻。
    Wǒ fēng wén zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng chuán kāi le.
    I heard through hearsay that this matter has already spread.
  • 风闻，。
    Tā fēng wén gōng sī yào cái yuán, xīn lǐ hěn bù ān.
    He got wind that the company was going to lay off people, and he felt very uneasy.
  • 风闻，。
    Dà jiā fēng wén zhè ge xiāo xi, dōu hěn jīng yà.
    Everyone heard through hearsay about this news and was very surprised.

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.

风fēngrumor
闻wénhear

风闻 joins rumor and hear: to learn something carried by rumor.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén聞wén
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 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

Open 闻 →

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