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Glite Dictionary
are your ears burning

are your ears burning

1 9.5
Asking someone if people have just been talking about them
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ¿te están sonando los oídos?
  • When Samantha walked in, I couldn't help but ask, are your ears burning?

Examples

  • When you called, we were actually discussing you—are your ears burning?

  • He walked in and joked, 'Are your ears burning? We've just been talking about you.'

  • Whenever your name comes up, someone always asks, 'Are your ears burning?'

  • I just mentioned you, so are your ears burning?

  • Whenever I talk about Sarah, I wonder if her ears are burning.

  • I just heard that everyone was talking about you; are your ears burning?

  • After hearing them mention your name several times, I wondered if are your ears burning?

Antonyms

ignorance
316 3.9

Not knowing about something or how it works

unawareness
2 5.4

Not knowing or noticing something

Surface Forms

are your ears burning main

Morphology

be + your + ear + burning

The literal words 'ears' and 'burning' describe a physical sensation, but the idiomatic meaning 'people are talking about you' is metaphorical and not derivable from those constituents by a B1 learner. Although similar idioms exist in some other languages, the link is language-specific and unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Are your ears burning comes from an old idea that when people gossip about you your ears feel hot, as if they are burning. So people say it to mean 'have others been talking about you'.