ear
ear — 名詞
- earsingular
- earsplural
1. The ear is one of the two body parts located on opposite sides of your head that
耳朵
頭部兩側的聽覺器官
The ear is one of the two body parts located on opposite sides of your head that let you hear sounds. It can mean the visible outer flap of cartilage or the whole hearing system inside the skull.
Rachid's ears felt warm again after he pulled on a thick hat.
Rachid 戴上厚帽子後，耳朵又暖和起來了。
possessive + ear(s) for body part
The doctor used a small light to look inside Nora's ear.
醫生用一支小手電筒檢查 Nora 的耳朵裡面。
medical: look inside someone's ear
Rabbits have long ears that help them listen for danger.
兔子有長長的耳朵，能幫助牠們察覺危險。
The loud noise hurt Christopher's ears, so he covered them with his hands.
巨大的噪音震痛了 Christopher 的耳朵，於是他用手摀住它們。
collocation: hurt + ears (pain/discomfort)
Linh gently cleaned behind her dog's ears with a soft damp cloth.
Linh 用柔軟的濕布輕輕擦拭她小狗的耳朵後面。
- ear infection
- ear pain
- ear lobe
- inner ear
- outer ear
- ear canal
- ear drum
文法句型
possessive + ear(s)
adjective + ear(s)
ear + noun (ear infection, ear pain)
用法筆記
Countable noun. Use the plural 'ears' when referring to both organs. The outer, visible part is often called the 'ear' in everyday speech, while 'inner ear' and 'middle ear' are medical terms for the parts inside the head.
常見錯誤
2. The seed-bearing tip of cereal grasses, including wheat, corn, and barley, where
穗
穀類植物頂端的種子穗
The seed-bearing tip of cereal grasses, including wheat, corn, and barley, where the grains grow tightly packed at the top of the stalk. Farmers harvest these ears once the seeds are ripe and ready for use as food.
The farmer walked through the field and checked each ear of wheat.
農人走過田地，檢查每一株小麥的穗。
ear of + grain type
Each ear of corn held rows of golden kernels ready for harvest.
每一根玉米穗上都排列著準備收成的金色玉米粒。
By late summer the ears of barley had turned a deep golden brown.
夏末時，大麥的穗已經轉為深金褐色。
Birds landed on the tall grass and pecked at the ripe ears of grain.
鳥兒落在高高的草上，啄食成熟的穀穗。
collocation: ripe ear
Eitan examined the ears of rice to check if they were ready to cut.
Eitan 檢查稻穗，看看是否已經可以收割。
- ear of corn
- ear of wheat
- ear of barley
- ripe ear
- grain ear
文法句型
ear of + grain type (ear of wheat, ear of corn)
用法筆記
The phrase 'ear of corn' is common in American English and refers to the whole cob with its kernels. In British English, 'corn cob' or 'maize cob' is more frequent for the same thing. Context from farming, plants, or cooking makes this sense clear and avoids confusion with the body part meaning.
3. A natural ability to notice, understand, or copy sounds correctly — especially m
音感
辨識或重現聲音的能力
A natural ability to notice, understand, or copy sounds correctly — especially musical notes, rhythm, or the sounds of a foreign language.
Luca's ear for melody helps him notice every wrong note his band plays.
Luca 對旋律的音感很敏銳，樂團裡有人彈錯音他都聽得出來。
possessive + ear for + domain (melody)
Eliska has a great ear for accents and can imitate Irish or French speech.
Eliska 對口音非常敏銳，能夠模仿愛爾蘭或法語的腔調。
Playing the violin well requires a fine ear for pitch and tone.
把小提琴拉好需要敏銳的音感來分辨音高和音色。
adjective + ear for + skill area
Kevin has no ear for rhythm at all, so dancing is hard for him.
Kevin 完全沒有節奏感，所以跳舞對他來說很困難。
When Keiko arrived in Boston, her ear for English helped her follow fast conversations in the campus cafeteria.
Keiko 到波士頓時，她對英語的聽辨能力幫助她在校園餐廳裡跟上快速的對話。
time clause + main clause showing concrete scene
- good ear
- fine ear
- sharp ear
- trained ear
- ear for music
- ear for languages
- ear for accents
- musical ear
Slightly redundant but common; more specific to music than language
- pitch perception
More technical; used in music education contexts
- aural sensitivity
Formal register; rare in everyday speech
- tone deafness
The inability to distinguish between different musical pitches
文法句型
have a(n) adjective + ear for + noun
an ear for + music/language/accents
用法筆記
Always used with a determiner and usually an adjective: 'a good ear', 'a fine ear', 'a sharp ear'. The preposition 'for' introduces the domain (music, languages, accents). This sense is almost never used in the plural — 'ears' in this meaning would be incorrect.
常見錯誤
be all ears
idiomTo be very eager and ready to listen to what someone is going to say.
洗耳恭聽
When Mia mentioned a secret, I was all ears.
Are you all ears for my story about the trip?
To talk to someone for a long time, especially about a personal problem.
對某人喋喋不休
Diego bent my ear about his car troubles for an hour.
She bent her friend's ear about the unfair boss.
be out on your ear
idiomTo be forced to leave a job or position suddenly.
被解僱
After the mistake, Tom was out on his ear.
If you're late again, you'll be out on your ear.
To have a very large amount of something to deal with.
忙得不可開交
Sara is up to her ears in homework this weekend.
We were up to our ears in orders before the holiday.
box somebody's ears
idiomTo hit someone on the side of the head as a punishment.
打耳光
Grandpa threatened to box my ears if I lied.
The teacher boxed the boy's ears for cheating.
To listen or look at something or someone very carefully and with interest.
側耳傾聽/仔細看
The dog cocked an ear at the strange noise.
She cocked an eye at the painting, studying it closely.
Someone hears about something, especially after others already knew.
傳到某人耳中
News of the scandal reached the manager's ears quickly.
The rumor came to my ears through a friend.
A person feels that others are talking about them, often in an unkind way.
耳朵發燙（覺得有人在背後議論）
My ears were burning when they mentioned my name.
Were your ears burning? We were just talking about you.
A person is trying to listen to a private conversation.
豎起耳朵偷聽
Keep your voice down; his ears are flapping.
I noticed her ears flapping when we discussed the surprise.
easy on the ear
idiomPleasant to listen to.
悅耳
The singer's voice is very easy on the ear.
Is this music easy on the ear for you?
easy on the ear/eye
idiomPleasant to listen to or look at.
悅耳/悅目
The garden's colors are easy on the eye.
Her voice is easy on the ear during the song.
fall on deaf ears
idiomTo be ignored or not listened to by others.
被當作耳邊風
My warnings fell on deaf ears at the meeting.
Did your advice fall on deaf ears again?
To hit or be hit on the ear as a punishment.
打耳光
If you don't behave, I'll give you a thick ear.
He got a thick ear for talking back to his mother.
To be forgotten immediately after being heard.
左耳進右耳出
My instructions go in one ear and out the other with him.
Does everything I say go in one ear and out the other?
To have a very large amount of something, often more than needed.
多到滿出來
That company has money coming out of its ears.
She has toys coming out of her ears after the birthday party.
To be trusted by someone important so they listen to your advice.
得到某人信任
The advisor has the ear of the president.
Does she have her boss's ear on policy matters?
To speak to someone privately, often to give advice or a warning.
私下說句話
Can I have a word in your ear about the project?
She had a word in his ear before the interview.
To listen carefully for a particular sound or information.
豎起耳朵聽
Keep your ears open for any news about the job.
I kept my ears open for the doorbell.
To watch or listen carefully for someone or something.
留意
Keep your eyes open for a parking spot.
She kept her ears open for her name at the ceremony.
To make sure you know about the latest developments in a situation.
保持關注
Journalists keep their ear to the ground for breaking news.
He had his ear to the ground regarding company changes.
To listen to someone patiently and sympathetically.
傾聽
Can you lend an ear to my problem?
She lent an ear to her friend's worries.
To do something very badly or make a mess of it.
搞砸
He made a pig's ear of the cake recipe.
Don't make a pig's ear of your presentation.
You cannot make something good from poor materials.
劣質材料難成精品
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with that fabric.
He tried to improve the old house, but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
music to your ears
idiomNews or information that makes you very happy to hear.
好消息
The news of her promotion was music to my ears.
Is the refund music to your ears?
To be very surprised by something you hear.
不敢相信自己的耳朵
I couldn't believe my ears when he apologized.
Did you not believe your ears when she said yes?
To be very surprised by something you hear or see.
不敢相信自己的耳朵/眼睛
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the mess.
I couldn't believe my ears when they announced the winner.
To play music without reading notes, using only memory of the sound.
憑記憶彈奏
He can play the piano by ear after hearing a song once.
She played the tune by ear, not from sheet music.
play it by ear
idiomTo decide how to act as a situation develops instead of planning ahead.
見機行事
We don't have a plan; let's just play it by ear.
Should we play it by ear for the weekend trip?
prick (up) your ears
idiomTo raise the ears or become suddenly attentive to a sound.
豎起耳朵
The dog pricked up its ears at the sound of the door.
She pricked her ears when she heard her name.
To continue to be heard in your mind after the sound has stopped.
在耳邊迴響
Her laughter still rings in my ears.
The warning rang in his head all day.
To refuse to listen to something.
不聽
He shut his ears to the criticism.
She closed her ears to the gossip.
To smile very widely because you are very happy.
笑得合不攏嘴
The child grinned from ear to ear when he got the gift.
She was beaming from ear to ear after the surprise party.
To ignore or refuse to listen to someone or something.
充耳不聞
He turned a deaf ear to my advice.
Why did she turn a deaf ear to the warnings?
walls have ears
idiomUsed to warn that other people may be listening secretly.
隔牆有耳
Be careful what you say; walls have ears.
Remember, walls have ears in this office.
Young and lacking experience.
乳臭未乾
The new intern is still wet behind the ears.
He's wet behind the ears when it comes to politics.
If someone sends you away with a flea in your ear, they angrily tell you to leave.
被訓斥一頓後趕走
The boss sent him away with a flea in his ear.
She left the meeting with a flea in her ear after the argument.
with half an ear
idiomListening without giving full attention.
心不在焉地聽
He listened to the news with half an ear while cooking.
She only heard the conversation with half an ear.
ear — 動詞
- earpresent simple I / you / we / they
- ears3rd person singular
- earing-ing form
- earedpast simple
1. When a grain plant such as wheat, corn, or barley produces its seed-bearing head
抽穗
穀物長出穗的過程
When a grain plant such as wheat, corn, or barley produces its seed-bearing head at the top of the stalk. This happens naturally as part of the plant's growth cycle.
The wheat began to ear after the first warm spring rain.
第一場溫暖的春雨過後，小麥開始抽穗了。
begin to ear: start of the growth stage
This type of corn ears much earlier than older varieties did.
這個品種的玉米比老品種抽穗早得多。
By mid-June the barley had already eared, producing thick seed-heads at the top of each stalk.
到六月中旬時，大麥已經抽穗，每一根莖的頂端都長出了飽滿的穗頭。
past tense: eared, with participial result clause clarifying growth stage
If the weather stays warm the rice plants will ear within two weeks.
如果天氣持續溫暖，稻子會在兩週內抽穗。
conditional + will ear + time frame
- begin to ear
- start earring
- ear early
- ear late
- head
'The wheat is heading' is a common alternative in farming speech
- come into ear
A slightly longer phrasal alternative: 'The corn came into ear in early August'
文法句型
ear (no object)
begin to ear
用法筆記
This is a specialised agricultural term. It is almost never used outside farming or gardening contexts. The past tense is 'eared'. Learners at intermediate levels rarely need to produce this word but may encounter it in reading about farming.
同根字
常見搭配
常用片語
- ear for detail
- ear to the ground
介系詞搭配
- in one's ear
- by ear (play by ear)
- to someone's ear