听其声而知其鸟,闻其声而知其人。

A bird is known by its note, and a man by his talk.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

=1 yǐn smile (archaic)
=1 tīng
  1. to listen to; to hear
  2. to heed; to obey
  3. a can (loanword from English "tin")
  4. classifier for canned beverages
  5. to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. tìng)
  6. (literary) to administer; to deal with (Taiwan pr. tìng)
=2
  1. his
  2. her
  3. its
  4. their
  5. that
  6. such
  7. it (refers to sth preceding it)
=2
  1. (obsolete) Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  2. (obsolete) Used in personal names.
  3. Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  4. Used in personal names.
=2
  1. (archaic) only used in 彼其
  2. only used in 彼其
3 shēng
  1. sound
  2. voice
  3. tone
  4. noise
  5. reputation
  6. classifier for sounds
4 ér
  1. and
  2. as well as
  3. and so
  4. but (not)
  5. yet (not)
  6. (indicates causal relation)
  7. (indicates change of state)
  8. (indicates contrast)
=5 zhī
  1. to know
  2. to be aware
=5 zhì
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) Original form of (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
  2. Original form of (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
=6
  1. his
  2. her
  3. its
  4. their
  5. that
  6. such
  7. it (refers to sth preceding it)
=6
  1. (obsolete) Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  2. (obsolete) Used in personal names.
  3. Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  4. Used in personal names.
=6
  1. (archaic) only used in 彼其
  2. only used in 彼其
=7 diǎo
  1. variant of diǎo
  2. penis
=7 niǎo
  1. bird
  2. "bird" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 196)
  3. (dialect) to pay attention to
  4. (intensifier) damned
  5. goddamn

classifiers: ,

=8 Wén surname Wen
=8 wén
  1. to hear
  2. news
  3. well-known
  4. famous
  5. reputation
  6. fame
  7. to smell
  8. to sniff at
=9
  1. his
  2. her
  3. its
  4. their
  5. that
  6. such
  7. it (refers to sth preceding it)
=9
  1. (obsolete) Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  2. (obsolete) Used in personal names.
  3. Used at the end of a sentence to show doubt.
  4. Used in personal names.
=9
  1. (archaic) only used in 彼其
  2. only used in 彼其
10 shēng
  1. sound
  2. voice
  3. tone
  4. noise
  5. reputation
  6. classifier for sounds
11 ér
  1. and
  2. as well as
  3. and so
  4. but (not)
  5. yet (not)
  6. (indicates causal relation)
  7. (indicates change of state)
  8. (indicates contrast)
=12 zhī
  1. to know
  2. to be aware
=12 zhì
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) Original form of (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
  2. Original form of (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
13 其人 rén that person; the person in question