Chinese character wén

The word around it decides: 闻 can mean “hear” or “smell.”

In Chinese, 闻到 an odor means to smell or detect it; 听闻 means to hear about something; 新闻 means news; and 闻名 means famous or known by reputation. The Mandarin pinyin spelling wén names a pronunciation, not an English translation. The ear component helps explain the character’s construction, but does not make every word with 闻 about sound.

Where did 闻 come from?

闻 is the simplified form of an older Chinese character.

Older forms appear in oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions, showing a written tradition that evolved rather than the modern shape 闻 appearing fully formed. Shang oracle-bone inscriptions were used for royal divination and prayers.

That Shang inscription tradition dates to roughly 1400–1100 BCE; the range dates the writing tradition, not the first appearance of 闻. Traditional 聞 is analyzed as 耳, “ear,” as its meaning component, plus 門 as a sound component.

Japanese 聞 has its own uses

Japanese uses the traditional form 聞 in 聞く for hearing, listening, or asking. It also has a specialized sense of appreciating incense by smelling it. These Japanese uses overlap with some Chinese senses, but the surrounding Japanese expression determines the reading.