耳

Mandarin · pinyin ěr

Meanings

  1. ear
  2. handle (archaeology)
  3. and that is all (Classical Chinese)
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Characters in this entry

耳
ěr · ear; merely, only; handle; Kangxi radical 128
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · er3

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1character link17same-tone records
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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji5

Cantonese word readings for 耳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. ear
  2. ear-like object
  3. something on both sides
  4. handle on both sides of an object
  5. (obsolete) to hear; to hear of
  6. a surname
  7. (Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien, figurative) something that can be used to coerce or threaten someone

character · Etymology 2

  1. (literary) Phrase-final particle: merely; only; that's all

character · Etymology 3

  1. only used in 耳孫/耳孙 (réngsūn)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack