耳 (ěr) is a Chinese character meaning “ear”. It is written from 一 (one) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 三 (three), and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “ear”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 丨 + 丨 + 三
Overlapping structure
- 一 one · yī unknown
- 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn unknown
- 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn unknown
- 三 three · sān unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+8033 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (six strokes: 横 / 竖 / 竖 / 横 / 横 / 横)
Memory aid
One horizontal (一) caps the top, two verticals (丨 丨) drop down like the outer rim of an ear, and three stacked horizontals (三) fill it in like the ridges inside — the last one runs out wide, the earlobe.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 耳朵ěr duoear耳 = ěr
- 木耳mù ěrwood ear mushroom耳 = ěr
- 耳环ěr huánearring耳 = ěr
- 耳聋ěr lóngdeaf; hard of hearing耳 = ěr
- 聂耳Niè ĚrNie Er (1912–1935), composer of the Chinese national anthem耳 = ěr
Go deeper
All readings
ear
ear; something shaped like an ear (as in 木耳, the wood ear mushroom)
听觉器官，耳朵；也指形状像耳朵的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 耳朵ěr duoear耳 = ěr
- 木耳mù ěrwood ear mushroom耳 = ěr
- 耳环ěr huánearring耳 = ěr
- 耳聋ěr lóngdeaf; hard of hearing耳 = ěr
- 聂耳Niè ĚrNie Er (1912–1935), composer of the Chinese national anthem耳 = ěr
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 耳 mean?
耳 (ěr) means ear; something shaped like an ear (as in 木耳, the wood ear mushroom).
How do you pronounce 耳?
It is pronounced ěr.
What parts is 耳 made of?
一 (one) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 丨 (vertical stroke) and 三 (three). The recorded source is: Unicode U+8033 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (six strokes: 横 / 竖 / 竖 / 横 / 横 / 横). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 耳 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 耳?
耳. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 耳?
Common ones are 耳朵 and 木耳. The reading of 耳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.