听
yǐn
#285 most
frequent character
smile (archaic)
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
听 comes from a variant of 聽, which had 耳 ear and meant 'to listen.' The simplified form uses 口, added to tell it apart from 厅, and 斤, a later corruption of 厅. 斤 can still suggest the sound. The meaning also grew to 'to obey.'
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