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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Same Characters, Different Readings

HSK 1
听tīng
to listen, to hear, to obey

Homophones

引yǐn
lead, guide, draw, stretch, lure
隐yǐn
(bound form) secret, hidden
饮yǐn
to drink

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