Chinese word

闻

Pronunciation

Pinyinwén

Meaning

  • verbsmell

Example

她把花闻了。tā bǎ huā wén le

She smelled the flower.

Illustration for 闻 (smell)

More examples

他从远处就闻到了花香。tā cóng yuǎn chù jiù wén dào le huā xiāng

He could smell the scent of flowers from far away.

Core concept

Detecting something by taking in a signal through the senses, especially a scent through the nose.

Common phrases

  • 闻到wén dào

    smell

  • 闻起来wén qǐ lái

    smell

Similar words

闻到wén dào: To notice a smell and realize that it is present.
闻起来wén qǐ lái: To describe the way something smells.

Definition in Chinese

通过嗅觉捕捉气味，指闻到或嗅出某种味道或气息；口语中常与“到”“起来”等补语连用。tōng guò xiù jué bǔ zhuō qì wèi zhǐ wén dào huò xiù chū móu zhǒng wèi dào huò qì xī kóu yǔ zhōng cháng yǔ dào qǐ lái děng bú yǔ lián yòng

Word origin

闻 (wén, "smell; hear") combines 耳 (ěr, "ear") + 门 (mén, "door"), reflecting its older hearing sense; its meaning later broadened to include detecting scents.

Usage tips

  • English often says that a room or shirt smells, but this verb usually presents a person as the one sensing the odor; Chinese uses a different pattern when describing how an object smells.

Other meanings

  • hearverb
  • sniff outverb

Word lists with this word