Today’s word of the day is 听 (tīng) which means ‘to listen’. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 听 (tīng).
偷听 (tōu tīng) Eavesdrop
The first word is 偷听 (tōu tīng) which means ‘to eavesdrop’. Let’s look at each character of this word, 偷 means ‘to steal’ and 听 means ‘to listen’. A way of using it in a sentence is: 手机是不是在偷听我们说话？(Shǒujī shì búshì zài tōu tīng wǒmen shuōhuà.) Do our phones eavesdrop on our conversations?
难听 (nán tīng) Offensive
Another word we can create with 听 (tīng) is 难听 (nán tīng). This means ‘offensive’. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 难 means ‘hard’, and 听 means ‘to listen’. So it describes something ‘hard to listen to’ A way of using it in a sentence is 你说得真难听。(Nǐ shuō de zhēn nántīng.) What you said is very offensive.
听说 (tīng shuō) To hear
Finally, we can create the word 听说 (tīng shuō) which is a noun that means ‘to hear’ from someone else. The 说 here means ‘to speak’. A way of using it in a sentence is 听说他们吵了架。(Tīng shuō tāmen chǎole jià.) I heard they had an argument.