Can anyone answer the source/root of the Chinese character "聞" ?
It is a "Door" with an "Ear", when and why it has the meaning of "smelling" finally?
A "Door" with a "Mouth" = "問" or ask, we can understand.
A "Door" with a "Ear" = "聞" or hear, , we can understand.
There must be a time that "聞" is being used to represent "smelling", while the original creator of the character just meant "hear"...
I am asking this question for an ABC (American-born Chinese) friend, and I try search for an answer, but come to a dead end, please share with me the correct answer if you can :)
thanks :)
Why 聞 = hear/smell ?
2009-11-03 6:05 pm
回答 (3)
2009-11-05 9:20 pm
✔ 最佳答案
樓上is not correct at all. 聞as the meaning of 'smell' is not only used in cantonese. It is not a kind of 方言usage. It adopted the meaning of 'smell' long long ago. Searching thru the great 漢語大辭典shows the following entry:8.嗅。
《韓非子，十過》：“共王駕而自往，入其幄中，聞酒臭而還。”
唐杜甫《秋行官張望督促東渚耗稻向畢》詩：“東渚雨今足，佇聞粳稻香。”
It proves that dated back to 《韓非子》, the word 聞 already had the meaning of 'smell'.
2009-11-05 13:28:40 補充：
《韓非子》was written more than 2000 years ago.
2009-11-13 1:54 pm
kelman_1234 是對的。另一例：漢·劉向《說苑·雜言》：“與惡人居，如入鮑魚之肆，久而不聞其臭，亦與之化矣。”
2009-11-03 7:29 pm
"聞" is originally used to qualify the action of hearing eg. 聽聞, that is why the character is a ear within the door. This is a formal explanation of hearing, but no meaning of smelling at all. There is another word "嗅" used for action of smell & "臭" for foul smell, "香" for fragrant.
"聞" or the homophone was used for smelling only adopted in Cantonese region，it is what we called 「方言」dialect。
"聞" or the homophone was used for smelling only adopted in Cantonese region，it is what we called 「方言」dialect。
參考: me
收錄日期: 2021-04-11 15:57:31
原文連結 [永久失效]:
https://hk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091103000051KK02133