Questions & Answers about Tīngdào tā nàyàng shuō, tā xiào le hěn jiǔ.
In 听到他那样说, what exactly does 听到 mean? Is 到 a result complement?
听到 literally is 听 (to hear) + 到 (reach / arrive). Here 到 works as a result complement, showing that the action of hearing was successfully completed:
- 听 – to listen / to hear (the action itself)
- 听到 – to manage to hear / to have heard (you actually caught the sound)
So 听到他那样说 means “(having) heard him say that”, focusing on the result that the hearing really happened, not just the process of listening.
What’s the difference between 听到, 听见, and just 听? Are they interchangeable here?
Roughly:
- 听到 – emphasizes successfully hearing something (result).
- 听见 – very similar, “to hear, to catch (the sound)”. Often interchangeable with 听到 in everyday speech.
- 听 – more general: “to listen / to hear” without emphasizing whether you actually perceived the sound clearly.
In this sentence, you could say:
- 听到他那样说
- 听见他那样说
Both are fine and very natural. Using only 听他那样说 is possible but feels a bit more like “when she was listening to him say that”, not as clearly result‑focused as 听到 / 听见.
Why is there no subject before 听到? Shouldn’t it be 她听到他那样说?