耳熟能详

• Pinyin: ěr shú néng xiáng
• Hanzi breakdown: 耳 = 象形 (ear); 熟 = 享 (enjoy) + 灬 (heat) — brought to full ripeness by sustained exposure; 能 = 月 + 匕匕 — originally a bear pictograph, meaning ability; 详 = 言 (speech) + 羊 (phonetic) — to speak in thorough detail

Meaning

To know something inside out from repeated exposure; thoroughly familiar from having heard it many times, able to explain it in complete detail.

耳熟能详 describes the deep familiarity that comes from repeated hearing — a proverb, story, cultural reference, or principle one knows so well they could recite and explain it without preparation. Used in academic, cultural, and media contexts to describe widely-known material.

Examples

1. 这首民歌旋律优美，歌词朗朗上口，在华语地区早已是耳熟能详的经典之作。 With its beautiful melody and catchy lyrics, this folk song has long been a classic that’s familiar to everyone across the Chinese-speaking world.
2. 对于任何一位研究近代史的学者来说，那段历史事件的来龙去脉都是耳熟能详的基础知识。 For any scholar of modern history, the full background and sequence of that event is basic knowledge they know inside out.
3. 她将那段演讲的内容背得耳熟能详，在讨论会上能够逐字逐句地引用并加以分析。 She had memorized that speech so thoroughly that at the seminar she could quote it word for word and analyze it.

Usage Guide

Context: academic, literature, culture, media

Tone: appreciative

Do Say

• 孔子的仁义礼智信等核心思想对于每一位接受过中国传统文化教育的人来说几乎都是耳熟能详的基础概念，但真正将其融入日常行为的人却并不多。(Confucius's core ideas such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and integrity are concepts almost everyone with a traditional Chinese cultural education knows thoroughly, yet those who truly integrate them into daily conduct are far fewer.)
• 这部纪录片采访了数十位亲历者，将那些本应耳熟能详却逐渐被年轻一代遗忘的历史细节重新带回公众的视野。(This documentary interviewed dozens of eyewitnesses, bringing back into public view those historical details that should be thoroughly familiar but have gradually been forgotten by the younger generation.)

Don't Say

• 我对这首歌耳熟能详地唱了出来 — 耳熟能详 is an adjectival predicate describing a state of familiarity, not an adverb modifying the manner of an action; say 这首歌我早已耳熟能详，可以随口唱出 for correct usage

Origin & History

耳 (ear) + 熟 (ripe/familiar) + 能 (able/capable) + 详 (detailed/thorough) — made familiar through hearing until one is capable of explaining it in complete detail

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal