Another "problematic" word pairs include hear And listen. Difference lies in the very meaning of these verbs. One of them is used to express the ability to perceive speech, music and other sounds by ear, and the other shows that we purposefully pay attention to any information.

hear listen. Difference and examples

If you explain everything in simple human language, then hear- this "hear", but listen – "listen". The difference is clearly visible if you pay attention to the preposition to, which is friendly with the verb listen. Usually to used with verbs of motion to show the direction of that same motion. Apparently, the British decided that with the help of listen to the speaker must show that all his attention is directed to the absorption of the information that he perceives. That is, it turns out that HEAR- this is the variant of listening when we catch something by ear not on purpose, but simply hear something because we have such an ability. LISTEN will be needed when we specifically listen to something or someone. Pay attention to the examples.

Are you listening to me? - You are listening to me?

I heard the window breaking and went out. I heard the window break and I went out.

What singers do you listen to? - What artists do you listen to?

Do you hear the noise outside? Did you hear the noise in the street?

Bob cannot hear you; there are too many people in the bus. Bob can't hear you; there are too many people on the bus.

Listen, I'm not going to offend you. “Look, I'm not going to offend you.

Difference between hear and listen. Nuances

But every rule has exceptions and themes. difference between hear and listen' This also applies. So, there are cases when, despite the obvious lengthy process of listening, you still need to use hear, but not listen. The rules are given below.

1. Use a verb hear, if the offer is relevant to a court hearing.

For example:

This matter must be heard next week. The hearing will take place next week.

2. When it comes to receiving news from someone, the verb is also used hear. In this case, he is friends with the preposition from.

Have you heard any news from that old lady? Did you find out (heard) something about that old lady?

What is the difference between hear and listen in English?

Here you can find out what is the difference between the English words hear and listen.

The verbs of perception in English are quite similar in meaning. Therefore, sometimes it is not easy to choose the right and appropriate word for the situation. The same is true with the verbs hear and listen.

If the verb hear means to hear something without making any effort, then the verb listen means to listen, to listen with purpose.

I heard a strange noise at the backyard. - I heard a strange noise in the backyard.
You should listen to your heart. - You need to listen to your heart.

In most cases, the word listen is used with a to particle, as in one of the above examples. To fully understand the difference between the words hear and listen read the following example:

I can hear you, but I don't want to listen to you. - I hear you, but I don't want to listen.

The word hear can easily be turned into a phrasal verb, as it can be combined with many prepositions. Let's look at a few examples, paying particular attention to the translation:

I need you to hear me out. I need you to listen to me carefully.
How did you hear of this vacancy? - How did you hear about this job?
Did you hear anything from him? - Did you get any news about him?

The word listen can also be used as phrasal verb:

Hey everybody, listen up ! - Hey, listen to everyone!
Someone was listening in on us. - Someone was eavesdropping on us.

Sometimes the verb hear is used in formal situations. For example:

The matter will be heard on Wednesday. - The hearing will be on Wednesday.
You are going to hear the course of lectures at Princeton University. - You will listen to a course of lectures at Princeton University.
These people need to be heard. These people need to be heard.

Most often, we confuse simple things, those words that we use daily, in this case, the verbs ‘ listen ' And ' hear' , which are both related to hearing but are used in different situations. Let's take a closer look at when which verb should be used.

Hear

First, let's talk about the verb hear – hear . During the day, you hear many different sounds. You get up in the morning and hear the alarm clock, hear the neighbor's kids playing in the yard, hear the television, and these sounds or noises enter our ears involuntarily, even if we don't want to. This is what the verb " hear"- the ability of a person to hear, to have hearing, or vice versa, not to hear:

• I think she can't hear you in the crowd - I think she doesn't hear you in the crowd

Google shortcode

Verb hear also used when it comes to listening to a performer, lecturer, television and radio programs, as well as listening to a course of lectures:

• You have a chance to hear the course of lectures at Oxford University - you have a chance to listen to a course of lectures at Oxford University.
• We are going to the theater to hear the famous French singer - we are going to the theater to listen to a French performer.

We use hear when a lawsuit is being heard in court, and the hearing will accordingly be called hearing.

• The matter will be heard on Monday - the matter will be heard on Monday

Also hear we need it in the meaning of “learn, hear, receive a message, news” and in this meaning this verb is accompanied by the preposition from:

• Did you hear from your brother? Did you hear from your brother?
• She was glad to hear from you - she was glad that you announced yourself

As can be seen from the above, in none of the above examples, with the exception of the last, to hear not accompanied by a suggestion- this is one of the differences that cannot be said about listen, often followed by the preposition "to".

Listen

Verb listen- listen we use when we need to focus on what has been said. You listen to lectures, lessons, TV shows consciously, and here we need the verb "listen". This is another difference between the two verbs: we hear (hear) whether we like it or not, and listen if we are interested in something (listen). In fact, you can hear, but not listen to - hear something but not listen to it.

• Don't bother me, I'm listening to my favorite television show - don't bother me, I'm listening to my favorite TV show.
• Listen to the music of the forest - listen to the music of the forest.

Why does your teacher always say "Listen to me!" - because he wants to draw your attention to what he will say.

Let's remember a few more phrases with the listen verb:

• to listen to reason - listen to the voice of reason
• listen to a plea - satisfy the request
• to listen for smth. - try to hear smth.
• listen here! — listen to what I say!

As we noted above, when it comes to radio, a concert, a lecture, it is possible to use both the verb hear and the verb listen (to). But how to use them correctly? Let me tell you a little secret: as a rule, in the case of public speaking, we use hear, in the case of non-public performances, the listen verb is used.

• A lot of people came to hear the President's speech last night.
• First I heard this song at a live concert.
• Do you ever listen to the radio in your car?
• Have you listened to that recording I sent you?

Most often we confuse simple things. I mean the simple words we use every day, in this case the verbs "hear" and "listen" (hear/listen). They both refer to the perception of information (sounds) from the outside world, but they have a difference. Let's look at which verb should be used when and what is the difference between them.

Hear

Transcription and translation:
/ [chia] - hear

Meaning of the word:
The ability of a person to distinguish sounds and words with his ears.

Use:
The verb hear is used when we want to show the fact that we hear a sound.

Example:

By the way, when we want to focus on the source from where we heard something, we must use the preposition from (translated as "from"):

Did you hear from your brother?
Have you heard from your brother?

She was glad to hear from you.
She was glad you introduced yourself.

Listen

Transcription and translation:
[’lɪsən] / [lisn] - listen

Meaning of the word:
Pay attention to what someone is saying or the sounds you hear.

Use:
The verb listen is most often used when talking about conscious perception sounds (information). That is, when we not only hear, but also listen (perceive this information).

Examples:

I listen to you.
I am listening to you.

What music do you like to listen to?
What kind of music do you like to listen to?

By the way, with the verb listen, the preposition to is often used, which is placed after it. For example, listen to music (listen to music). We do not use the preposition to after the verb hear. Remember this.

In life, we can hear (hear), but not listen (listen). Usually we listen to what we are interested in. If we hear music in the background, or fragments of people talking at the next table in a cafe, then in this case we should use the word hear. If you have any questions, be sure to write them in the comments!