Hear vs listen
A sound reaches you.
Or you give it your attention.
What is the difference between hear and listen?
Hear describes perceiving a sound. Listen means paying attention to sound. When you name what you listen to, use listen to.
I can hear a dog.
You notice the sound. You do not have to choose to pay attention.
“I can hear a dog outside, even with the windows closed.”
I listen to music.
You give the sound your attention.
“I listen to music while I cook dinner.”
Useful forms
hear → heard → heard: “I heard the alarm.”
listen → listened → listened: “I listened to the message.”
For a sound you perceive now, “I can hear…” is a useful pattern. For attention happening now, say “I am listening to…”.
A little reminder.
Watch the short lesson, then put the difference into practice.
Watch on YouTube ↗I can hear you.
I am listening to you.
Hear or listen?
Choose the base form that fits each gap. Check your answers to see why.
Show all answers and explanations
- listen — Listen to means pay attention to the instructions.
- hear — Can you hear asks whether you can perceive the sound.
- listen — You choose to pay attention: listen to a podcast.
- hear — The problem is perceiving the sound: hear you, without to.
- listen — Listen can stand alone when no object follows.
- hear — The sound reaches your ears: hear the traffic.
- listen — Use listen to before the thing you pay attention to.
- hear — You noticed a sound. After did, use the base form hear.
Make it yours.
Complete these aloud or on paper:
“Right now, I can hear…”Get the free practice sheet ↓
“On my way to work, I listen to…”
Reference: BBC Learning English: Hear vs listen. Examples and exercises created for The Pocket Teacher.
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