聴 means “listen, hear attentively”

きく · kiku

Also: headstrong, naughty, careful inquiry

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

きく, ゆるす

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

チョウ, テイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 17 strokes

The story

An ear (耳), an eye (罒, lying on its side) and a heart (心), all turned one way: listening with everything you have. 聴く is to listen closely, to music or a lecture, where 聞く just hears; 視聴者 are viewers and a 聴診器 is a stethoscope.

Used in 聴く (kiku, to listen), 視聴者 (shichousha, viewer), and 聴診器 (choushinki, stethoscope)

More from The Senses

• 芳 fragrant
• 眺 gaze
• 臭 smelly
• 盲 blind
• 薫 fragrant
• 匂 smell
• 嗅 smell
• 瞭 clear
• 視 look at

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.