Ear Radical (耳) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet

耳 is the ear radical. It appears in 8 of the most common Chinese characters — these 8 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.

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About the radical

What does 耳 mean?

Ear radical · 耳 ěr · 6 strokes · ear

It usually appears on the left, or at the bottom. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.

Shapes: 耳

耳 itself: An ear

Characters in this family

8 common characters with 耳

Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.

CharacterPinyinMeaningOrigin
取qǔget, take, fetchA hand 又 taking the ear 耳 of a fallen enemy
联liánally, join关 supplies the sound
职zhípost, position, appointment只 supplies the sound
闻wénsmell; hear门 supplies the sound
敢gǎndareA hand with a stick 攵 striking a beast 耳
聊liáochat卯 supplies the sound
聪cōng(literary) acute (of hearing); (bound form) clever; intelligent; sharp总 supplies the sound
聘pìnto employ; to appoint; (bound form) to betroth; (coll.) (of a woman) t…甹 supplies the sound
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