聋人
lóngrén · HSK 7
person
🧏 聋 (deaf) + 人 (person) = a deaf person
聋人 stacks two parts: 聋 means deaf and 人 means person. Note 聋 contains 龙 (lóng, dragon) on top of 耳 (ear) — the dragon gives the lóng sound, the ear gives the meaning of hearing.
聋 — dragon 龍 (phonetic) + ear 耳 (semantic)
聋 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The ear 耳 component signals the meaning—something to do with hearing—while 龍 (lóng, dragon) supplies the sound. Together they denote 'deaf,' i.e. an ear that cannot hear. The simplified form replaces the older 聾 with 龙 on top.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.