耳背

ěrbèi

adjective #34,286

Meanings

1 hard of hearing
2 having impaired hearing (typically from age)

Characters

back; to turn away

Examples

爷爷年纪大了，有点耳背。

Yéye niánjì dà le, yǒudiǎn ěrbèi.

Grandpa's getting on in years and is a bit hard of hearing.

你说话大点声，他耳背。

Nǐ shuōhuà dà diǎn shēng, tā ěrbèi.

Speak a bit louder, he's hard of hearing.

她身体还硬朗，就是有点耳背。

Tā shēntǐ hái yìnglǎng, jiùshì yǒudiǎn ěrbèi.

She's still in good shape, just a little hard of hearing.

Tips

memory

Literally 'ear-back' — picture an ear that has 'turned its back' on sound. Colloquial and gentler than the medical 听力下降 (hearing loss); common when describing elderly relatives without sounding clinical.

Stroke Order

耳 ěr

背 bēi