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偷听

偷聽
tōutīng
verb #7,268

Meanings

  1. 1 to eavesdrop
  2. 2 to listen in secretly

Characters

偷
tōu
to steal; secretly
听
tīng
to listen
Literally 'steal-listen' — to listen secretly without being noticed.

Examples

你在偷听我们说话吗？
Nǐ zài tōutīng wǒmen shuōhuà ma?
Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?
她偷听了老板的电话。
Tā tōutīng le lǎobǎn de diànhuà.
She secretly listened in on the boss's phone call.
偷听别人的隐私是不对的。
Tōutīng biérén de yǐnsī shì bùduì de.
It's wrong to eavesdrop on other people's privacy.

Tips

usage
偷听 always implies secrecy and is negative. For legitimate listening or monitoring, use 监听 (jiāntīng).
memory
Many 偷 compounds describe doing something sneakily: 偷看 (peek), 偷吃 (sneak a bite), 偷笑 (snicker).

Stroke Order

偷 tōu
听 tīng