Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having sharp hearing; having keen ears: The primary meaning describes a person or animal whose sense of hearing is exceptionally acute, allowing them to perceive faint or distant sounds clearly and quickly.
   • Quick to hear or perceive (figurative): Used figuratively to describe someone who is very alert, perceptive, or quick to pick up on news, gossip, or subtle information.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Con mèo rất thính tai, nó nghe thấy tiếng chuột từ xa. (The cat has very sharp hearing; it hears the mouse from afar.)
  • Ông ấy tuy già nhưng vẫn còn thính tai lắm. (He is old but still has very keen ears.)
  • Dân làng đồn rằng bà ấy thính tai lắm, chuyện gì cũng biết. (The villagers say she is very quick to hear things; she knows everything.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used to compliment someone's auditory ability or, in its figurative sense, their attentiveness and awareness of their surroundings or community affairs.

Variants and Related Words

• Thính (adj): sharp (of senses like smell or hearing). Can stand alone to mean "acute" but often specifies the sense (thính mũi = sharp-nosed, thính tai = sharp-eared).
• Tai thính (adj phrase): an alternative word order with the same meaning (keen ears).

Synonyms

• Sharp-eared
• Keen of hearing
• Having acute hearing
• Perceptive (figurative)

Related Idioms

• Mắt tinh tai thính: Literally "sharp eyes and keen ears." Describes someone who is very observant and alert, noticing everything.
  • Làm công an phải mắt tinh tai thính. (To be a police officer, you must have sharp eyes and keen ears.)