How to Write 聘 (pìn) — Meaning “to hire; to engage”

Imagine you need to "hire" a musician, so you use your "ear" (耳) to listen to their performance, and if they play well, you "ping" (sound like 甹) the contract. The combination of hearing and sealing the deal helps recall 聘 as to hire.

The right side 甹 has a horizontal stroke that should not be too long, and the bottom part 丙 must be written with a clear hook on the vertical stroke. Many learners forget the short horizontal inside the enclosure of 丙. Keep the left ear radical narrow and balanced with the right side.

聘 (to hire) uses the ear radical combined with 甹, while 聃 (dān) is an ancient name meaning long ears or big ears, and 聆 (líng) means to listen carefully. Visually, 聆 has a different right component (令) and 聃 has 冄 (a phonetic). In usage, 聘 is common in job contexts, 聆 is for attentive listening, and 聃 is rare.

聘 is most often seen in 招聘 (zhāo pìn) for company recruitment posters and 应聘 (yìng pìn) when applying for a job. It also appears in 聘请 (pìn qǐng) for formally hiring a specialist or inviting a guest speaker. Culturally, using 聘 implies a professional or formal engagement, such as hiring a lawyer or a professor.

Common words containing 聘 include: 招聘 (zhāo pìn) — To recruit / to hire; 应聘 (yìng pìn) — to apply for a job; 聘请 (pìn qǐng) — to hire; to invite.