打听

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 我去打听一下开会的时间。▶ —
   I’ll go find out the meeting time.
2. 他四处打听这件事的真相。▶ —
   He asked around about the truth of this matter.

Collocations

Mnemonic

打 dǎ "to hit" + 听 tīng "to listen": here 打 is a light, semantically bleached verb (not "to hit"), and with 听 it means to ask around, to inquire. 打 has the hand radical 扌; 听 has the mouth 口. Colloquial.

Related

Quick check

1. What is the role of 打 in 打听?

   • a light verb marking an action (not "to hit")
   • to literally hit with the hand
   • to count numbers
   • to open a door