耳熟

ěrshú

adjective #11,328

Meanings

这首歌听着很耳熟。

Zhè shǒu gē tīng zhe hěn ěrshú.

This song sounds very familiar.

这个名字很耳熟，但我想不起来是谁。

Zhège míngzi hěn ěrshú, dàn wǒ xiǎng bù qǐlái shì shéi.

This name sounds familiar, but I can't remember who it is.

memory

Ear (耳) + familiar/ripe (熟) = familiar to the ear. Your ears have 'ripened' to this sound -- they've heard it before.

usage

Often extended to 耳熟能详 (ěrshú néng xiáng) -- so familiar you can describe it in detail. A very common four-character expression.

耳 ěr

熟 shú