English [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From Middle English listenen , listnen , alteration (due to Middle English listen ( “ to listen, give heed to ” ) ) of Old English hlysnan ( “ to listen ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *hlusnijaną , *hlusnōną (compare Middle High German lüsenen ), from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną (compare Old High German hlosēn ), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ( “ to hear ” ) (compare Ancient Greek κλαίω ( klaíō , “ I make known, famous ” ) , Welsh clywed ( “ to hear ” ) , Latin clueō ( “ I am famous ” ) , Lithuanian klausýti , Old Church Slavonic слушати ( slušati , “ to hear ” ) , Sanskrit श्रोषति ( śróṣati ) . Related to loud and German lauschen .
Pronunciation [ edit ]
enPR : lĭs'ən , lĭs'n , IPA (key ) : /ˈlɪs.ən/ , [ˈlɪs.n̩]
Rhymes: -ɪsən
Hyphenation: lis‧ten
listen (third-person singular simple present listens , present participle listening , simple past and past participle listened )
( intransitive ) To pay attention to a sound or speech .
Please listen carefully as I explain. I like to listen to music.
1922 , Ben Travers , chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest [1] :He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.
( intransitive ) To expect or wait for a sound , such as a signal .
You should listen for the starting gun.
1906 , Stanley J[ohn] Weyman , chapter I, in Chippinge Borough , New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., OCLC 580270828 , page 01 :It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. [ …] . He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.
He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen , and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.
( intransitive ) To accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent .
Listen , the only reason I yelled at you was because I was upset, OK ? Good children listen to their parents.
( transitive , archaic ) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.
1485 , Sir Thomas Malory , Le Morte d'Arthur , Book XX:
'But, sir, lyars ye have lystened , and that hath caused grete debate betwyxte you and me.'
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare , “The First Part of Henry the Sixt ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ward] Blount , published 1623, OCLC 606515358 , [Act V, scene iii]:Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.
1727 , James Thomson , “Summer”, in The Seasons , London: [ … ] A[ndrew] Millar , and sold by Thomas Cadell , [ … ] , published 1768, OCLC 642619686 :Here laid his Scrip, with wholesome Viands fill'd, / There, listening every Noise, his watchful Dog.
Usage notes [ edit ]
In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic , unconscious , or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional , conscious , or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. The difference is expressed in the following quotation:
As the silence took hold in the darkness, Sam realized that she had been hearing , though not listening to, various low-level sounds—the hum of air conditioning and life support, the pulse of some faraway oxygen pump, the faint buzz of the electrical and lighting systems. —Justin Richards (1999) Demontage , chapter 5, page 92.
A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.
Quotations [ edit ]
Synonyms [ edit ]
( to pay attention ) : attend , behear , give ear , hark , hear , heed , list , mind , note , pay attention
( to expect or wait for a sound ) : await , anticipate , expect , wait for
( to accept advice or instruction ) : agree , assent , hearken , mind , obey
( to hear ) : hear , mind , heed
See also Thesaurus:listen
Antonyms [ edit ]
Coordinate terms [ edit ]
Derived terms [ edit ]
Related terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
to pay attention to a sound
Afrikaans: luister (af)
Albanian: dëgjoj (sq) , ndëgjoj
Amharic: ማዳመጥ ( madamäṭ )
Arabic: أَصْغَى ( ʾaṣḡā ) , أَنْصَتَ ( ʾanṣata ) , اِسْتَمَعَ (ar) ( istamaʿa ) , سَمِعَ (ar) ( samiʿa )
Egyptian Arabic: سمع ( simiʿ )
Moroccan Arabic: سمع (ar) ( smaʿ )
South Levantine Arabic: سمع ( simiʿ )
Aragonese: ascuitar (an)
Armenian: լսել (hy) ( lsel )
Aromanian: ascultu
Assamese: শুনা ( xuna )
Asturian: escuchar (ast)
Azerbaijani: dinləmək (az) , qulaq asmaq
Bashkir: тыңлау ( tıŋlaw ) , ( Eastern ) тыңдау ( tıŋdaw )
Basque: entzun , aditu
Belarusian: слу́хаць impf ( slúxacʹ ) , паслу́хаць pf ( paslúxacʹ )
Bengali: শোনা (bn) ( śona )
Bikol Central: himati (bcl)
Breton: selaou (br)
Bulgarian: слу́шам (bg) impf ( slúšam )
Burmese: နားထောင် (my) ( na:htaung )
Catalan: escoltar (ca)
Cebuano: dungog (pagdungog ), mamati (pagpamati ), paminaw (pagpaminaw )
Cherokee: ᎠᏛᏓᏍᏗᎭ ( advdasdiha )
Chickasaw: haklo
Chinese:
Cantonese: 聽 , 听 ( teng1 , ting1 )
Dungan: тин ( tin )
Mandarin: 聽 (zh) , 听 (zh) ( tīng )
Chuvash: итле ( itle )
Cimbrian: lusan
Czech: poslouchat (cs) impf , poslechnout (cs) pf
Danish: lytte
Dutch: luisteren (nl)
Esperanto: aŭskulti
Estonian: kuulama , tähele panema
Evenki: до̄лды̄мӣ ( dōldīmī ) , до̄лды̄н ( dōldīn )
Faroese: lurta
Finnish: kuunnella (fi)
Franco-Provençal: acutar
French: écouter (fr)
Friulian: scoltâ
Galician: atender (gl) , escoitar , oír (gl)
Gallurese: iscultà
Georgian: მოსმენა ( mosmena ) , სმენა ( smena ) , გაგონება ( gagoneba )
German: hören (de) , zuhören (de)
Alemannic German: zuelose
Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 ( hausjan )
Greek: ακούω (el) ( akoúo )
Ancient: ἀκροάομαι ( akroáomai ) , ἀκούω ( akoúō )
Haitian Creole: koute
Hadza: exekeke
Hawaiian: hoʻolohe
Hebrew: הִקְשִׁיב (he) ( hikshív ) , הֶאֱזִין (he) ( he'ezín )
Hiligaynon: pamati (magpamati , mamati , pamatian )
Hindi: सुनना (hi) ( sunnā )
Hungarian: hallgat (hu) , figyel (hu)
Icelandic: hlusta (is) (á (is) )
Ido: askoltar (io)
Indonesian: dengar (id) , mendengar (id)
Interlingua: ascoltar
Irish: éist
Istriot: scoltà
Italian: ascoltare (it)
Japanese: 聞く (ja) ( きく, kiku )
Kabuverdianu: obi , uví
Kabyle: ssefled
Kannada: ಆಲಿಸು (kn) ( ālisu )
Kashmiri: بوزُن ( bōzun )
Kashubian: czëc
Kazakh: тыңдау (kk) ( tyñdau ) , есіту (kk) ( esıtu )
Khmer: ស្ដាប់ (km) ( sdap )
Korean: 듣다 (ko) ( deutda )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: گوێ دان ( gwê dan )
Northern Kurdish: guhdarî kirin (ku) , guh dan (ku)
Kyrgyz: угуу (ky) ( uguu ) , тыңшоо ( tıŋşoo ) , тыңдоо ( tıŋdoo )
Ladin: scuter
Lao: ຟັງ ( fang )
Latgalian: klauseitīs
Latin: auscultō , audiō (la) , exaudio
Latvian: klausīties
Limburgish: loestere (li) (nao /loc.)
Lithuanian: klausyti (lt)
Livonian: kūldõ
Lombard: ascoltà
Lü: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: слуша impf ( sluša )
Malay: dengar (ms)
Malayalam: കേൾക്കുക (ml) ( kēḷkkuka )
Maltese: issamma
Manchu: ᡩᠣᠨᠵᡳᠮᠪᡳ ( donjimbi )
Maori: whakaoko , whakarongo , whakataringa
Marathi: ऐकणे ( aikṇe )
Middle English: listnen
Mongolian: чагнах (mn) ( čagnax ) , сонсох (mn) ( sonsox )
Nahuatl: caqui (nah)
Nanai: до̄лди-
Neapolitan: sentì , ntennere
Norman: êcouter
Northern Ohlone: taahe
Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: lytte (no)
Occitan: escotar (oc)
Ojibwe: babaamendam
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: слушати impf ( slušati )
Old East Slavic: слꙋшати impf ( slušati )
Old English: hlystan , ġehīeran
Old French: escouter , esculter
Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰃𐰭𐰞𐰀 ( tïŋla- )
Oriya: ଶୁଣିବା (or) ( śuṇiba )
Oroqen: dɔ꞉ldi-
Ottoman Turkish: دیكلهمك ( diŋlemek )
Pashto: غوږ نيول ( ğwag niwəl )
Pennsylvania German: hariche
Persian: نیوشیدن (fa) ( niyušidan ) , گوش دادن (fa) ( guš dâdan ) , گوش کردن (fa) ( guš kardan )
Phuthi: mamela
Polish: słuchać (pl) impf
Portuguese: escutar (pt)
Quechua: uyariy
Romanian: asculta (ro)
Romansch: tadlar , audi , tedlar , tarlar , tadler
Russian: слу́шать (ru) impf ( slúšatʹ ) , послу́шать (ru) pf ( poslúšatʹ )
Sanskrit: शृणोति (sa) ( śṛṇoti )
Sardinian: aiscultare , aiscurtare , ascultare
Campidanese: ascurtai
Logudorese: ascurtare , iscultare , iscurtare
Sassarese: iscultà
Scottish Gaelic: èisd , èist
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: слу̏шати impf , по̀слушати pf
Roman: slȕšati (sh) impf , pòslušati (sh) pf
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Sicilian: ascutari (scn)
Sinhalese: ඇහුම්කන් දෙනවා ( æhumkan denawā ) , අහනවා ( ahanawā )
Slovak: počúvať impf , poslúchnuť pf
Slovene: poslušati (sl) impf
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: słuchaś impf
Upper Sorbian: słušeć impf , роsłuсhаć pf
Sotho: mamela (st)
Spanish: escuchar (es)
Swahili: kusikiza (sw) , kusikiliza
Swedish: lyssna (sv)
Sylheti: ꠢꠥꠘꠣ ( huna )
Tagalog: dinig (tl) (dinggin ), kinig (pakinggan ), makinig
Tajik: гӯш додан ( güš dodan ) , гӯш кардан (tg) ( güš kardan )
Tamil: கேள் (ta) ( kēḷ )
Tatar: тыңларга ( tıñlarga )
Telugu: ఆలకించు (te) ( ālakiñcu ) , వినుట (te) ( vinuṭa )
Thai: ฟัง (th) ( fang )
Tibetan: གསོན་པ ( gson pa )
Tok Pisin: harim
Tongan: fanongo
Turkish: dinlemek (tr)
Turkmen: diňlemek
Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎎𐎓 ( šmʿ )
Ukrainian: слу́хати (uk) impf ( slúxaty )
Urdu: سننا ( sunnā )
Uzbek: tinglamoq (uz) , eshitmoq (uz)
Venetian: scoltar (vec)
Vietnamese: nghe (vi) , lắng nghe (vi)
Welsh: gwrando (cy)
West Frisian: harkje
Xhosa: mamela
Yiddish: הערן ( hern ) , צוהערן ( tsuhern )
Zhuang: dingh , nyi
Zulu: lalela
to expect or wait for a sound
Afrikaans: luister (af)
Albanian: dëgjo , prit
Arabic: أَنْصَتَ ( ʾanṣata )
Armenian: ականջ դնել (hy) ( akanǰ dnel )
Asturian: escuchar (ast)
Basque: entzun
Bikol Central: (please verify ) dengogen
Bulgarian: ослу́швам се ( oslúšvam se ) , вслу́швам се ( vslúšvam se )
Catalan: escoltar (ca)
Cebuano: (paminawa )
Czech: naslouchat (cs)
Danish: lytte , høre efter
Dutch: luisteren (nl) , opletten (nl)
Estonian: kuulama , kuulatama
Faroese: lurta
Finnish: kuunnella (fi)
French: tendre l'oreille (fr) , guetter (fr)
Galician: escoitar
Georgian: მოსმენა ( mosmena )
German: lauschen (de)
Hiligaynon: pamati (magpamati , mamati , pamatian )
Hindi: सुनना (hi) ( sunnā )
Ibanag: maginna
Icelandic: hlusta (is) (eftir (is) )
Ilocano: agdengngeg , denggen , dumngeg
Italian: stare in ascolto per , sentire (it)
Ivatan: adngeyen
Japanese: 聞く (ja) ( きく, kiku )
Kabuverdianu: obi , uví
Kabyle: ssefled
Kapampangan: makiramdam
Korean: 듣다 (ko) ( deutda )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: گوێ دان ( gwê dan )
Northern Kurdish: guhdarî kirin (ku) , guh dan (ku)
Latgalian: klauseitīs
Latin: ausculto , exaudio
Latvian: klausīties
Limburgish: loestere (li) (nao /loc.), óplètte
Lithuanian: klausyti (lt)
Lower Sorbian: słuchaś
Maguindanao: pakinig
Malay: pasang telinga
Maranao: makineg , pimakinog
Marathi: ऐकणे ( aikṇe )
Norwegian: lytte (no)
Occitan: escotar (oc)
Ojibwe: nandotan
Old English: hlosnian
Oriya: please add this translation if you can
Pangasinan: odengel , pakanggel
Pashto: غوږ نيول ( ğwag niwəl )
Polish: nasłuchiwać
Portuguese: escutar (pt)
Romanian: asculta (ro)
Russian: слу́шать (ru) impf ( slúšatʹ )
Scottish Gaelic: èisd
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: слушати impf , послушати pf
Roman: slušati (sh) impf , poslušati (sh) pf
Slovak: načúvať
Sotho: mamela (st)
Spanish: escuchar (es)
Swahili: sikiza (sw)
Swedish: lyssna (sv)
Tagalog: dinig (tl) (dinggin ), kinig (pakinggan )
Tamil: மெதுவா கேள் ( metuvā kēḷ )
Tausug: dumongog
Telugu: ఆలకించు (te) ( ālakiñcu )
Thai: ฟัง (th) ( fang )
Tongan: fanongo
Turkish: dinlemek (tr)
Ukrainian: слу́хати (uk) impf ( slúxaty )
Urdu: سننا ( sunnā )
Vietnamese: chờ đợi (vi) , chờ (vi) , đợi cho
Yiddish: הערן ( hern )
to accept advice or obey instruction
Afrikaans: luister (af)
Albanian: dëgjoj (sq)
Ancient Greek: ἀκούω ( akoúō ) , εἰσακούω ( eisakoúō )
Arabic: أَطَاعَ ( ʾaṭāʿa )
Armenian: լսել (hy) ( lsel ) , ենթարկվել (hy) ( entʿarkvel )
Asturian: escuchar (ast)
Basque: aditu , kasu egin , jaramon egin
Bulgarian: отстъ́пвам (bg) ( otstǎ́pvam )
Catalan: escoltar (ca)
Cebuano: patalinghugi
Chickasaw: ihaklo
Czech: poslouchat (cs)
Danish: høre efter
Dutch: gehoorzamen (nl) , luisteren (nl)
Estonian: kuulama
Faroese: lurta eftir
Finnish: kuunnella (fi) , uskoa (fi)
French: écouter (fr)
Galician: atender (gl) , oír (gl)
Gallurese: iscultà
German: hören (de)
Greek: ακούω (el) ( akoúo )
Hawaiian: lohe
Hebrew: הקשיב (he) ( hikshív ) , האזין (he) ( he'ezín )
Hiligaynon: pamati
Hindi: सुनना (hi) ( sunnā )
Hungarian: hallgat (hu)
Icelandic: hlusta (is) (á (is) )
Indonesian: mendengarkan (id)
Italian: dare (it) ascolto (it) , dar retta
Japanese: 聞く (ja) ( きく, kiku )
Kabuverdianu: obi , uví
Kabyle: ssefled
Khmer: ស្ដាប់ ( sdap )
Korean: 듣다 (ko) ( deutda ) , 들어주다 (ko) ( deureojuda )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: گوێ گرتن ( gwê girtin )
Northern Kurdish: guhdarî kirin (ku) , guh dan (ku)
Latgalian: klauseit
Latin: auscultō , audiō (la)
Latvian: klausīt
Limburgish: loestere (li) (nao /loc.)
Lithuanian: klausyti (lt)
Lower Sorbian: słuchaś
Malay: dengar (ms)
Marathi: सांगितलेले ऐकणे ( sāṅgitlele aikṇe )
Neapolitan: rà n’arecchia a
Norman: êcouter
Norwegian: lystre (no)
Occitan: escotar (oc)
Ojibwe: babaamitam
Old English: ġehīeran , ġehīersumian
Oriya: please add this translation if you can
Ottoman Turkish: دیكلهمك ( diŋlemek )
Pashto: غوږ نيول ( ğwag niwəl )
Polish: usłuchać , słuchać (pl)
Portuguese: ouvir (pt)
Romanian: asculta (ro)
Russian: слу́шать (ru) ( slúšatʹ ) , слу́шаться (ru) ( slúšatʹsja )
Sardinian:
Campidanese: ascurtai
Logudorese: ascurtare , iscultare , iscurtare
Sassarese: iscultà
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: слушати impf , послушати pf
Roman: slušati (sh) impf , poslušati (sh) pf
Slovak: poslúchať
Slovene: ubogati (sl) , poslušati (sl)
Sotho: mamela (st)
Spanish: escuchar (es)
Swahili: sikiza (sw)
Swedish: lyda (sv)
Tagalog: dinig (tl) (dinggin ), kinig (pakinggan , makinig )
Tamil: கேள் (ta) ( kēḷ )
Telugu: సమ్మతించు (te) ( sammatiñcu )
Thai: ฟัง (th) ( fang )
Tibetan: ཉན ( nyan )
Turkish: dinlemek (tr)
Ukrainian: слу́хати (uk) impf ( slúxaty ) , послу́хати pf ( poslúxaty ) , слу́хатися impf ( slúxatysja ) reflexive
Urdu: سننا ( sunnā )
Vietnamese: nghe theo , tuân theo , vâng lời (vi)
to hear (something)
Afrikaans: hoor (af)
Albanian: dëgjoj (sq)
Ancient Greek: ἀκούω ( akoúō )
Arabic: سَمِعَ (ar) ( samiʿa )
Egyptian Arabic: سمع ( semeʿ )
Armenian: լսել (hy) ( lsel )
Basque: entzun , aditu
Bulgarian: чу́вам (bg) impf ( čúvam ) , слу́шам (bg) impf ( slúšam )
Cebuano: patalinghugi
Chickasaw: haklo
Chinese:
Mandarin: 聽 (zh) , 听 (zh) ( tīng )
Czech: slyšet (cs)
Dutch: horen (nl)
Egyptian: (sḏm )
Esperanto: aŭskulti
Estonian: kuulma (et)
Faroese: hoyra (fo)
Finnish: kuulla (fi)
French: écouter (fr)
Galician: oír (gl)
German: hören (de)
Greek: ακούω (el) ( akoúo )
Hawaiian: lohe
Hebrew: שמע (he) ( shama )
Hiligaynon: pamati
Hindi: सुनना (hi) ( sunnā ) , कान लगाना ( kān lagānā )
Hungarian: hallgat (hu)
Icelandic: hlusta (is) , heyra (is)
Irish: éist
Isan: please add this translation if you can
Italian: sentire (it)
Japanese: 聞く (ja) ( きく, kiku )
Kabuverdianu: obi , uví
Kabyle: ssefled
Khmer: ឮ (km) ( leu ) , ស្ដាប់ឮ ( sdəp leu )
Korean: 들리다 (ko) ( deullida )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: گوێ لێبون ( gwê lêbun )
Northern Kurdish: guh lê bûn (ku)
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latgalian: dzierdēt
Latin: exaudiō , audio (la) , ausculto
Latvian: dzirdēt
Limburgish: loestere (li) , heure (li) , huuere (li)
Lithuanian: girdėti (lt)
Lü: please add this translation if you can
Malay: dengar (ms)
Marathi: ऐकणे ( aikṇe )
Neapolitan: sentì
Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: høre (no)
Ojibwe: bizindaw
Pashto: اورول ( awrawəl )
Persian: شنیدن (fa) ( šenidan )
Polish: wysłuchać (pl) , słuchać (pl)
Portuguese: escutar (pt) , ouvir (pt)
Romanian: asculta (ro)
Russian: слы́шать (ru) ( slýšatʹ ) , услы́шать (ru) pf ( uslýšatʹ )
Scottish Gaelic: cluinn
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: чути
Roman: čuti (sh)
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: počuť , slyšať
Slovene: slišati (sl)
Sotho: utlwa (st)
Spanish: oír (es)
Swahili: sikiza (sw)
Swedish: lyssna (sv)
Tagalog: dinig (tl) (dinggin ), rinig (narinig )
Tamil: கேள் (ta) ( kēḷ )
Telugu: విను (te) ( vinu )
Thai: ยิน (th) ( yin )
Tocharian B: klyaus-
Tok Pisin: harim
Tongan: fanongo
Turkish: duymak (tr)
Ukrainian: чу́ти (uk) pf ( čúty )
Urdu: سننا ( sunnā ) , کان لگانا ( kān lagānā )
Vietnamese: nghe (vi) , để ý đến
Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
listen (plural listens )
An instance of listening.
Synonym: ( of recorded audio ) play
Give the motor a listen and tell me if it sounds off.
2016 March 29, Victor Luckerson, “There's a New Way To Listen To All the Remixes You Want”, in Time [3] :The diss song, “Back to Back,” now has more than 124 million listens , a sign that the streaming can attract a sizable audience for a single track.
See also [ edit ]
Anagrams [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
list + -en
Pronunciation [ edit ]
listen m inan
( botany ) bract
Further reading [ edit ]
listen in Příruční slovník jazyka českého , 1935–1957
listen in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého , 1960–1971, 1989
listen in Internetová jazyková příručka
listen c
definite singular of liste
definite singular of list
Pronunciation [ edit ]
listen
Plural form of list
Anagrams [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From Liste + -en .
Pronunciation [ edit ]
listen (weak , third-person singular present listet , past tense listete , past participle gelistet , auxiliary haben )
to list
Synonym: auflisten
Conjugation [ edit ]
Conjugation of
listen (
weak , auxiliary
haben )
1 Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
listen (
weak , auxiliary
haben )
Derived terms [ edit ]
Related terms [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
Norwegian Bokmål [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
listen m or f
definite masculine singular of liste
definite masculine singular of list
Spanish [ edit ]
listen
inflection of listar :
third-person plural present subjunctive
third-person plural imperative
Swedish [ edit ]
listen
definite singular of list .
Anagrams [ edit ]