Meaning of 打听
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to ask about
- to make some inquiries
- to ask around
How to use 打听
打听 means to seek information indirectly, often by asking other people about someone or something. It usually takes an object such as a person, place, or piece of news. Example: 我帮你打听一下他的电话。(Wǒ bāng nǐ dǎting yíxià tā de diànhuà.) I'll ask around for his phone number for you.
打 (dǎ) means to hit or do, and 听 (tīng) means to listen. To 打听 is to go out and "do some listening", asking around until you hear the news you want.
Common mistake: Learners often use 打听 for asking a person a direct question, like 我打听老师 for "I asked the teacher". That should be 我问老师 (wǒ wèn lǎoshī). In everyday speech, 听 in 打听 is usually said with a neutral tone, dǎting, not dǎ tīng.
打听 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
打 dǎ · to hit · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
听 tīng · to listen to · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 打听.
| 听到 | tīngdào | to hear |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open; to show (a ticket) |
| 听见 | tīngjiàn | to hear |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | pleasant to hear |
| 打球 | dǎ qiú | to play a ball sport |
| 打车 | dǎchē | to take a taxi (in town); to hitch a lift |
| 听写 | tīngxiě | (of a pupil) to write down (in a dictation exercise); dictation; (music) to transcribe by |
| 打算 | dǎsuàn | to plan; to intend |
| 听说 | tīngshuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that) |
| 打工 | dǎgōng | to work a temporary or casual job; (of students) to have a job outside of class time, or d |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse |
Questions about 打听
What does 打听 mean?
打听 (dǎting) means "to ask about; to make some inquiries" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 打听?
打听 is made of 2 characters: 打 (5 strokes), 听 (7 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 打听 an HSK word?
Yes. 打听 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 打听 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 打听 is written 打聽.
What is the difference between 打听 and 问?
问 (wèn) is the general word for asking someone a question directly. 打听 means making inquiries about something, often by asking several people or asking indirectly. You 问 a person, but you 打听 news or information.
How do I say "May I ask..." politely with 打听?
A common polite phrase is 跟您打听一下 (gēn nín dǎting yíxià), meaning "May I ask you about something?" For example: 跟您打听一下，火车站怎么走？(Gēn nín dǎting yíxià, huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu?) Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?