# Listen



## gwinniegirl

Hi, I hope I can get a hand from someone who knows a bit more than me

I have wanted to get a tattoo for a long time of the Chinese character for "listen", the reason being that I'm a counsellor and I listen to people for a job, and listening to others and the rewards you get from it mean a lot to me.  I have heard that the Chinese character for "listen" means "respect, you, open heart, undivided attention, eyes, ears", but I do not obviously want to get the wrong thing tattooed on me, I know enough people who have failed miserably at actually getting the right character to convey the meaning they wanted.  So I am wondering if someone could possibly enlighten me, is that what "聽"actually means, or am I wrong?  As I say I just don't want to get the wrong character and hope someone can help.  Does this character mean "listen", and if so, does it also have all the sub-meanings I mentioned above?  Thanks in advance from a very grateful learner. J


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## xiaolijie

Hi gwinniegirl,

Yes, it's the right character for "listen". It doesn't really mean all the other things you mentioned but they are not completely invented, they are just the products of an over-stretched imagination. 
Anyway, if you want it as a tattoo, make sure that you get someone who knows something about Chinese to do it for you or s/he may unknowingly ruin it. Once you've done it, send us a photo of it and we'll tell you whether it's properly done


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## Zhi

This is absolutely the correct character you want. The only thing is that you should make sure the one who's gonna make the tatoo on you has a professional way to copy the nice handwriting precisely, because handwriting really matters in Chinese.


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## gwinniegirl

Thank you so much guys for replying to my question, I'm glad to know it's the right character but a tiny bit disappointed to know it doesn't have all the other meanings I thought it had.  Never mind though, it is always better to know beforehand isn't it?  Thanks so much for your help! x


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## BODYholic

Apart from the meaning "to listen", depending on the contexts it may also means "to hear".

Also, 聽, be it to listen or hear, is a simple word which lacks depth and profoundness. It's highly unlikely any native Chinese speakers would ever tattoo this on their body. Even in English language, words like 'eat', 'sleep', 'drink' or 'listen' are not favorite choices for tattooing. No?


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## gwinniegirl

Thanks BODYholic, good to get as many perspectives as possible, last thing I want is something with none of the meaning I wanted! J


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## Zhi

gwinniegirl said:


> Thank you so much guys for replying to my question, I'm glad to know it's the right character but a tiny bit disappointed to know it doesn't have all the other meanings I thought it had.  Never mind though, it is always better to know beforehand isn't it?  Thanks so much for your help! x


oh, maybe I'd misunderstood before. I thought "respect, you, open heart, undivided attention, eyes, ears" was not what you want. If you do want these meanings, unfortunately, 聽 doesn't have them.


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## sisuer

Hi, gwinnie girl. I think it's a good idea to have that character tattooed on you. It has some of the sub-meanings you mentioned, like "respect" and "attention", which are obviously related to the simple action of listening. And I don't think it matters if all people don't recognize the connotations of that character. Besides, the character also looks great. Its left part contains the character for "ear" (耳) and the right half contains the character for "heart"(心).


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## gwinniegirl

Ah ok, thanks sisuer, I'm glad you understand it to mean those things, that is what I wanted to convey, although I am now not so sure whether to go for it or not, as there's obviously a bit of disagreement as to what it means.  I do agree with you though, the character looks great, that and the fact I thought it had that meaning was the reason I wanted it as a tattoo in the first place...but I just didn't want to end up with something stupid inked on me for the rest of my life!  I appreciate that you have been able to tell me what the subtle nuances in it mean, but I am happy to receive all opinions so if anyone else has any ideas on this character please feel free to comment!x


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## Zhi

Tell me something gwinnie, if you see a Chinese with a tatoo of the English word "Listen", would you think it's stupid?


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## xiaolijie

gwinniegirl said:
			
		

> Ah ok, thanks sisuer, I'm glad you understand it to mean those things,  that is what I wanted to convey, although I am now not so sure whether  to go for it or not, as there's obviously a bit of disagreement as to  what it means.


There's no disagreement really. You can see this right under your first post "_they are not completely invented_". This means it doesn't actually have these meanings but it's understandable if someone prefers to think that it does. That is, those meanings do exist in the eye of some beholders. 



Zhi said:


> Tell me something gwinnie, if you see a Chinese with a tatoo of the English word "Listen", would you think it's stupid?


The psychological effect is quite difference, Zhi. When you see the word "Listen", you think it's the word "Listen", so I agree that this doesn't make too much sense. On the other hand, when a Western person sees the tattoo "聽" on a Western person's body, s/he is more likely to think of it as a design, and is more likely to judge it aesthetically.


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## terredepomme

Maybe 傾聽(listen attentively, respectfully) would seem less simplistic and mean what you intend.


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## gwinniegirl

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all your input! xiaolijie, thank you for clarifying that, I see what you mean.  I do agree with you on the point you made that Western people seeing a hanzi on a Western person would hopefully think it was aesthetically pleasing, that was the desired effect.  And I see now that basically...it can mean what you want it to. Thanks terredepomme, good to have an alternative to think about too.  Zhi...no I don't think I'd think it was stupid, I usually assume that if someone has a word or phrase tatooed then it means something to them.  I'd maybe think it was a bit silly if it was spelled wrongly though!  That's why I asked the question, I just don't want to have something like "this person is an idiot" written on me and not know it!  Ha ha!  Anyway, thanks for all your ideas everyone, I'll be back and let you know what I decide to do! xxx


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## Razzle Storm

terredepomme said:


> Maybe 傾聽(listen attentively, respectfully) would seem less simplistic and mean what you intend.



I agree with terredepomme here, especially since 聼 by itself just doesn't seem as profound.


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