DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to intentionally reinterpret a spoken expression as if one had misheard it, for the sake of humor (often, it is a phrase in a foreign language twisted into a similar-sounding phrase in one's native language with a completely different meaning) (orthographic borrowing from Japanese 空耳 "soramimi")Sources & editorial notes
Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.
Source record: cd-c737585200f0fbaa. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
空耳 空耳 [kong1 er3] /to intentionally reinterpret a spoken expression as if one had misheard it, for the sake of humor (often, it is a phrase in a foreign language twisted into a similar-sounding phrase in one's native language with a completely different meaning) (orthographic borrowing from Japanese 空耳 "soramimi")/Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.
Reference information
The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.
Character information
View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.