聴

音読おんよみ: チョウ

訓読くんよみ:

画数かくすう: 17

部首ぶしゅ: 耳(みみへん)

Meaning

Listen carefully / Hear / Heed

  • く — to listen carefully; to heed
  • 聴覚ちょうかく — sense of hearing
  • 聴衆ちょうしゅう — audience; listeners
  • 難聴なんちょう — impaired hearing; partial deafness
  • 傍聴ぼうちょう — attending a trial or meeting as an observer
  • 聴取ちょうしゅ — taking a statement; listening and recording

The kanji has the ear radical on the left, joined with a complex phonetic part that comes from the older form . In that old form you can see elements for ear, eyes, and heart, suggesting “using your ears, eyes, and heart together.” So is not just to “hear” sounds, but to listen closely and take them in with full attention.

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