耳

Ear Component (耳)

ěr · 6 strokes

The ear component (耳) is a component found in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to ear and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 14 characters: 3 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 耳 is also a Kangxi radical (ear). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Ear Radical (耳) page.

Ear Component at a Glance

Stroke Count6
Total Characters14
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (6 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Ear Component Characters

HSK 3 (3 characters)

闻wénto hear, to smell聪cōngclever聊liáochat

HSK 4 (4 characters)

职zhíjob, duty联liánconnect, unite聘pìnto hire取qǔto take

HSK 6 (1 characters)

耽dānto delay

HSK 7-9 (6 characters)

饵ěrbait耻chǐshame耿gěngupright聋lóngdeaf耸sǒngto excite聆líng(literary) to hear

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the ear component (耳)?
There are 14 characters containing the ear component (耳) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 取 (qǔ, "to take"), 联 (lián, "connect, unite"), 职 (zhí, "job, duty"), 闻 (wén, "to hear, to smell"), 聪 (cōng, "clever"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 耳 a radical or a component?
耳 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 耳 (ear) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 耳 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the ear radical," it means 耳 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the ear component," it means 耳 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 耳 appear in a character?
The ear component (耳) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (10 characters), bottom (2 characters), right side (1 characters), inner (enclosed) part (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 耳 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include ear component characters?
Characters containing the ear component (耳) appear across 4 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 3, 4 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 6, 6 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 6 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common ear-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).