Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
耳ěrear
耳 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidDrawn from an ear: ear.
机jīmachine; mechanism
木tree · mù
几table · jī
Memory aidA small table 几 made of wood 木: a machine. 几 (jī) also gives the sound.
How to write 耳机
耳 6 strokes · 机 6 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 耳机 (ěrjī). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
耳机 (ěrjī) means “headphones” or “earphones”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it ěrjī: ěr with a 3rd tone, then jī with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 耳机 is written 耳機. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type erji with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 耳机 from the suggestions. Typing erji into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
耳机 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 5 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
耳ěr3rd tone, dipping
机jī1st tone, high and level
