listen

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See also: Listen

English[edit]

WOTD – 24 December 2008
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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]
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪsən
  • Hyphenation: lis‧ten

Verb[edit]

listen (third-person singular simple present listens, present participle listening, simple past and past participle listened)

  1. (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.
    • 2007, KT Tunstall (lyrics and music), “Saving My Face”, in Drastic Fantastic‎[2]:
      I'm listening to what you say / Even though I look the other way / But you could never understand / The feeling of what I'm needing
  2. (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.
    • 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 4, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219:
      He reined Wrangle to a walk, halted now and then to listen, and then proceeded cautiously with shifting and alert gaze.
  3. (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.
  4. (transitive, archaic) To hear (something or someone), to pay attention to.

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]

Antonyms[edit]

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen (plural listens)

  1. 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]

Czech[edit]

Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Etymology[edit]

list +‎ -en

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen m inan

  1. (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

Danish[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen c

  1. definite singular of liste
  2. definite singular of list

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen

  1. Plural form of list

Anagrams[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Liste +‎ -en.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

listen (weak, third-person singular present listet, past tense listete, past participle gelistet, auxiliary haben)

  1. to list
    Synonym: auflisten

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of listen (weak, auxiliary haben)
infinitive listen
present participle listend
past participle gelistet
auxiliary haben
indicative subjunctive
present ich liste wir listen i ich liste wir listen
du listest ihr listet du listest ihr listet
er listet sie listen er liste sie listen
preterite ich listete wir listeten ii ich listete1 wir listeten1
du listetest ihr listetet du listetest1 ihr listetet1
er listete sie listeten er listete1 sie listeten1
imperative list (du)
liste (du) 		listet (ihr)

1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

Composed forms of listen (weak, auxiliary haben)
perfect
indicative ich habe gelistet wir haben gelistet subjunctive ich habe gelistet wir haben gelistet
du hast gelistet ihr habt gelistet du habest gelistet ihr habet gelistet
er hat gelistet sie haben gelistet er habe gelistet sie haben gelistet
pluperfect
indicative ich hatte gelistet wir hatten gelistet subjunctive ich hätte gelistet wir hätten gelistet
du hattest gelistet ihr hattet gelistet du hättest gelistet ihr hättet gelistet
er hatte gelistet sie hatten gelistet er hätte gelistet sie hätten gelistet
future i
infinitive listen werden subjunctive i ich werde listen wir werden listen
du werdest listen ihr werdet listen
er werde listen sie werden listen
indicative ich werde listen wir werden listen subjunctive ii ich würde listen wir würden listen
du wirst listen ihr werdet listen du würdest listen ihr würdet listen
er wird listen sie werden listen er würde listen sie würden listen
future ii
infinitive gelistet haben werden subjunctive i ich werde gelistet haben wir werden gelistet haben
du werdest gelistet haben ihr werdet gelistet haben
er werde gelistet haben sie werden gelistet haben
indicative ich werde gelistet haben wir werden gelistet haben subjunctive ii ich würde gelistet haben wir würden gelistet haben
du wirst gelistet haben ihr werdet gelistet haben du würdest gelistet haben ihr würdet gelistet haben
er wird gelistet haben sie werden gelistet haben er würde gelistet haben sie würden gelistet haben

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen m or f

  1. definite masculine singular of liste
  2. definite masculine singular of list

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

listen

  1. inflection of listar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

listen

  1. definite singular of list.

Anagrams[edit]

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