wén to hear; news; well-known

Made up of [ mén entrance; gate radical 169, ěr ear radical 128]
Alternative traditional form of character:
Made with 9 strokes.
Gives the idea of an ear at a gateway - hence 'listen, hear'; 'men' 'gateway' also suggests pronunciation

Related characters


Also uses mén component: jiàn (gap) jiān (between) ; mén (s) ; rùn (leap) ; wèn (ask) ; xián (to stay idle)
Also uses ěr component: cōng (quick at hearing) (to take)

Sounds same

wén (script)

Different tone

wèn (ask)

< Previous wén Next wèn >

Pronunciation

Sound file kindly provided by shtooka.net under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License

Proverbs

百闻不如一见 bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn Delighted to meet you in person at last. Seeing at first hand gives valuable information. The story is of a Han dynasty veteran general Zhao Chongguo who went to see the situation for himself at the frontier rather than relying on secondhand reports. His wise analysis quickly solved the problem with the incursions of northern tribes
闻风丧胆 wén fēng sàng dǎn Panic stricken; terrified by news
闻鸡起舞 wén jī qǐ wǔ Keen to begin a task even at daybreak. Diligent in action, losing no time.