闻 (wén) is a Chinese character meaning “to hear”. It is written from 门 (door; gate) and 耳 (ear), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to hear; news”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
门 + 耳
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（⿵门耳），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：门 3 画 + 耳 6 画 = 9 画
Memory aid
An ear (耳) placed right inside the gateway (门) — standing in the doorway to catch what is being said outside. That is how you hear the news.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 新闻xīn wénnews闻 = wén
- 闻名wén míngwell-known; famous闻 = wén
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)闻 = wén
Go deeper
All readings
to hear; news
to hear; to smell; what one hears; news; reputation
听见；用鼻子辨别气味。也指听到的事情、名声。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 新闻xīn wénnews闻 = wén
- 闻名wén míngwell-known; famous闻 = wén
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)闻 = wén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 闻 mean?
闻 (wén) means to hear; to smell; what one hears; news; reputation.
How do you pronounce 闻?
It is pronounced wén.
What parts is 闻 made of?
门 (door; gate) and 耳 (ear), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（⿵门耳），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：门 3 画 + 耳 6 画 = 9 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 闻 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 闻?
门. 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 闻?
Common ones are 新闻 and 闻名. The reading of 闻 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.