耳朵
The English phrase 'ears' is translated into Chinese as 耳朵.
The term 顺风耳 (Shun Feng Er, the Wind-Listening Ear) refers to a mythological figure with extraordinary hearing and is sometimes used metaphorically to describe someone who hears everything.
What does it mean word for word?
The first character, 耳, means 'ear'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, ears can be said as 耳仔 or 耳.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Chinese, one often refers to the quality of hearing by saying one's 'ears are not good' (耳朵不好) rather than saying 'my hearing is bad'.
Did you know?
- The term 耳熟 describes something that sounds familiar, literally meaning the thing is 'ripe' or 'cooked' in the ear.
- To describe someone who is overly gullible, Chinese uses the phrase 耳朵软, which means 'soft ears'.
- In many traditional Chinese medical contexts, the ears are considered a window to the health of the kidneys.
Examples in context
- 我長耳朵了。I have ears, you know.Tatoeba #13870986 by LeviHighway, translation #13214971 by frpzzd
- 我们用耳朵听。We hear with our ears.Tatoeba #5640781 by verdastelo9604, translation #248818 by Zifre
- 為什麼你的耳朵這麼大？Why are your ears so big?Tatoeba #1426344 by tsayng, translation #36497 by CK
- 他的耳朵很小，但听力非常好。(Tā de ěrduo hěn xiǎo, dàn tīnglì fēicháng hǎo.)His ears are small, but his hearing is excellent.
- 耳科医生 (ěr kē yīshēng)Ear specialist/doctor
- 我的耳朵有点痒，你有没有看到小虫子？(Wǒ de ěrduo yǒudiǎn yǎng, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu kàn dào xiǎo chóngzi?)My ears are a bit itchy, did you see a little bug?
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a hair salon, Junjie is getting his hair cut.
- 俊杰 Junjie请帮我修一下耳朵周围的头发。Qǐng bāng wǒ xiū yīxià ěrduǒ zhōuwéi de tóufa.Please trim the hair around my ears.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen好的，俊杰，没问题。Hǎo de, Jùnjié, méi wèntí.Okay, Junjie, no problem.
- 俊杰 Junjie小心一点，不要弄疼我的耳朵。Xiǎoxīn yīdiǎn, bùyào nòng téng wǒ de ěrduǒ.Be careful, don't hurt my ears.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen别担心，我会很温柔的。Bié dānxīn, wǒ huì hěn wēnróu de.Don't worry, I will be very gentle.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
