闻

• Pinyin: wén
• Hanzi breakdown: 闻 = 门 (door/gate) + 耳 (ear) — originally to hear through a door; modern meaning shifted to smell

Meaning

To smell; to sniff. The act of perceiving odour through the nose.

The primary modern meaning is to detect scent with the nose. Historically, 闻 also meant 'to hear' (as in 新闻, news — literally 'new things heard'), but in modern Chinese the 'smell' meaning dominates in everyday usage. Used with adjectives describing various scents.

Examples

1. 你闻闻这朵花，很香。 Smell this flower, it's very fragrant.
2. 我闻到了饭菜的香味。 I could smell the aroma of the food.
3. 这个东西闻起来不太好。 This thing doesn't smell very good.

Usage Guide

Context: senses, food, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你闻闻，这是什么味道？(Smell this, what is it?)
• 好香啊，我闻到了。(Smells great, I can smell it.)

Don't Say

• 我闻到了他的声音 (Don't use 闻 for hearing in modern Chinese — use 听到 for sounds; 闻 now means to smell, not to hear)

Origin & History

门 (door/gate) + 耳 (ear). Originally meant to hear sound through a door. The meaning later shifted to smelling, while the 'hear' sense is preserved in compounds like 新闻.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal