Chinese character 聊

In modern Chinese, 聊 means “talk” or “chat.”

聊聊 means “have a chat.” Cantonese writes the reading liu4 in Jyutping, a romanization where 4 marks the tone.

Where does 聊 appear in historical writing?

Its written record includes seal script and Western Han Chinese texts.

Seal script is an early Chinese writing style. 《说文解字》, an early Chinese character dictionary, glosses 聊 as “ear-ringing” and explains its parts as 耳 for meaning and 卯 for sound. Classical uses include “rely on,” “wish,” and “for now”; 聊以自慰 keeps “for now.” This account of its parts does not explain every later sense.