Listen

WOTD - 24 December 2008    

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English listnen, from Old English hlysnan, from Proto-Germanic *khlusinon (cf. German lauschen), from Proto-Indo-European *kleu- (“‘to hear’”). Akin to Template:Sga rochluiniur 'I hear', Latin clueō (“‘I am famous’”), Ancient Greek κλαίω (klaiō), “‘I make known, famous’”), κλέος (kleos), “‘report, rumor, repute’”), Template:Xcl [[լամ#Template:Xcl|լամ]] (lam), “‘I cry, weep’”), Albanian qaj, qanj (“‘to cry, weep’”), Template:Cu Template:Cyrs (sluti), “‘to speak clearly’”), Template:Cyrs (slušati), “‘to hear’”), Lithuanian klausau 'to hear', Middle Persian  (srod), “‘hearing, sound’”)Template:Rfscript, Sanskrit  (śru), “‘to hear’”). More at loud.

Pronunciation

• enPR: lĭs'ən, lĭs'n, IPA: /ˈlɪsən/, /ˈlɪsn̩/, SAMPA: /"lIs@n/, /"lIsn=/

• Audio (US)	noicon
  (file)

• Audio (UK)	noicon
  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsən
• Hyphenation: lis‧ten

Verb

Infinitive to Listen

Third person singular -

Simple past -

Past participle -

Present participle -

to Listen (third-person singular simple present -, present participle -, simple past and past participle -)

1. (intransitive) To pay attention to a sound, to note.

   Please listen carefully as I explain.

   I like to listen to music.

2. (intransitive) To wait for a sound, such as a signal.

   You should listen for the starting gun.

3. (intransitive) To accept or obey oral instruction.

   Good children listen to their parents.

4. (transitive, archaic) To hear (something), to pay attention to something said.
   • 1592, Shakespeare, 1 Hen VI: v 3

     Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.

Usage notes

In English, listen and hear are two primary verbs relating to audial perception. To hear represents automatic or passive perception of sound, while listen generally represents intentional or purposeful use of the sense of hearing. A similar distinction exists between see and watch in English.

Quotations

For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

Synonyms

• (to pay attention): attend, give ear, hark, hear, heed, list, mind, note, pay attention
• (to wait for a sound): await, anticipate, expect, wait for
• (to accept oral instruction): mind, obey
• (to hear): hear, mind, heed
• See also Wikisaurus:listen

Antonyms

• (to pay attention): ignore
• (to accept oral instruction): disobey, disregard

Derived terms

listenability listenable listener listenership listening

listen in listen up listening post listening station

Related terms

• list
• listful

Translations

to pay attention

Afrikaans: luister af(af) Albanian: dëgjoj, ndëgjoj Amharic: [[ማዳመጥ#Template:Am|ማዳመጥ]] (madamäṭ) Ancient Greek: ἀκούω (akouō) Arabic: اصغى (’áʂğā), نصت (náʂata) Armenian: լսել hy(hy) (lsel) Belarusian: слухаць be(be) (slúxac’) Bosnian: slušati bs(bs) (impf.), poslušati bs(bs) REDIRECT Template:pf. Bulgarian: слушам bg(bg) (slúsham) (impf.), послушвам bg(bg) (poslúshvam) (impf.), послушам bg(bg) (poslúsham) REDIRECT Template:pf. Catalan: escoltar ca(ca) Cebuano: dungog (pagdungog), pagpamati, paminaw (pagpaminaw) Chickasaw: haklo Chinese: Mandarin: 聽 cmn(cmn), 听 cmn(cmn) (tīng) Croatian: slušati hr(hr) (impf.), poslušati hr(hr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Czech: poslouchat cs(cs) Danish: lytte da(da) Dutch: luisteren nl(nl) naar nl(nl) Egyptian Arabic: سمع (simi3) Esperanto: aŭskulti eo(eo) Estonian: kuulama, tähele panema Faroese: lurta fo(fo) Finnish: kuunnella fi(fi) French: écouter fr(fr) Galician: atender gl(gl), escoitar gl(gl) , oír gl(gl) German: hören de(de), zuhören de(de) Greek: ακούω el(el) (akoúo) Hawaiian: lohe Hebrew: Template:He-translation, Template:He-translation Hiligaynon: pamati (magpamati, mamati, pamatian) Hindi: सुनना hi(hi) (sunnā) Hungarian: hallgat hu(hu), figyel hu(hu) Icelandic: hlusta (á) Indonesian: dengar id(id), mendengar id(id) Interlingua: ascoltar ia(ia) Irish: éist ga(ga) Italian: ascoltare it(it) Japanese: 聞く ja(ja) (きく, kiku) Kabyle: ssefled Khmer: ស្ដាប់ (sdəp) Korean: 듣다 ko(ko) (deutta) Kurdish: Kurmanji: guhdarî kirin, guh dan Sorani: گوێ دان ku(ku) (gwê dan)

Lao: ຟັງ lo(lo) (fang) Latin: auscultō la(la), audiō la(la) Latvian: klausīties Limburgish: loestere (nao/loc.) Lithuanian: klausyti lt(lt) Lower Sorbian: słuchaś Malay: dengar ms(ms) Malayalam: ശ്രദ്ധ (Sraddha), ശ്രദ്ധിക്കുക (Sréddhikkuka) Marathi: ऐकणे (aikaNe) Mongolian: сонсох mn(mn) (sónsoh) Nahuatl: caqui Neapolitan: sentì, ntennere Norwegian: lytte no(no) Occitan: escotar Ojibwe: babaamendam Pashto: غوږ نيول ps(ps) (γwag niwəl) Persian: گوش دادن fa(fa) (guš dâdan) Polish: słuchać pl(pl) Portuguese: escutar pt(pt), ouvir pt(pt) Romanian: asculta ro(ro) Russian: слушать ru(ru) (slúšat’) Scottish Gaelic: èisd gd(gd), èist gd(gd) Serbian: Cyrillic: слушати sr(sr) (impf.), послушати sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Roman: slušati sr(sr) (impf.), poslušati sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Slovak: počúvať sk(sk) Slovene: poslušati sl(sl) Sotho: mamela st(st) Spanish: escuchar es(es) Swahili: sikiza sw(sw) Swedish: lyssna på Tagalog: dinig tl(tl) (dinggin tl(tl)), kinig tl(tl) (pakinggan tl(tl)) Tamil: கேள் (kEL) Telugu: ఆలకించు te(te) (aalakimcu), వినుట te(te) (vinuta) Thai: ฟัง th(th) (fang) Tongan: fanongo Turkish: dinlemek tr(tr) Ukrainian: слухати (slúxaty) (impf.) Urdu: سننا ur(ur) (sunnā) Vietnamese: nghe vi(vi), lắng nghe vi(vi) Welsh: gwrando cy(cy)

to wait for a sound

Afrikaans: luister af(af) Albanian: dëgjo, prit Arabic: نصت (náʂata) Armenian: ականջ դնել hy(hy) (akanǰ dnel) Bikol: dengogen Bosnian: slušati bs(bs) (impf.), poslušati bs(bs) REDIRECT Template:pf. Bulgarian: ослушвам се (oslúshvam se) (impf.), ослушам се (oslúsham se) REDIRECT Template:pf., вслушвам се (vslúshvam se) (impf.), вслушам се (vslúsham se) REDIRECT Template:pf., слушам (slúsham) (impf.) Catalan: escoltar ca(ca) Cebuano: (paminawa) Croatian: slušati hr(hr) (impf.), poslušati hr(hr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Czech: naslouchat cs(cs) Danish: lytte, høre efter Dutch: luisteren nl(nl) naar nl(nl), wachten nl(nl) op nl(nl), opletten nl(nl) Estonian: kuulama, kuulatama Faroese: lurta fo(fo) Finnish: kuunnella fi(fi) French: tendre l'oreille fr(fr), guetter fr(fr) German: lauschen de(de) Hiligaynon: pamati (magpamati, mamati, pamatian) Hindi: सुनना hi(hi) (sunnā) Ibanag: maginna Icelandic: hlusta (eftir) Ilocano: agdengngeg, denggen, dumngeg Italian: stare it(it) in it(it) ascolto it(it) per it(it) sentire it(it) Ivatan: adngeyen Japanese: 聞く (きく, kiku) Kabyle: ssefled Kapampangan: makiramdam Korean: 듣다 (deutta) Kurdish: Kurmanji: guhdarî kirin, guh dan Sorani: گوێ دان ku(ku) (gwê dan) Limburgish: loestere (nao/loc.), óplètte

Lithuanian: klausyti lt(lt) Lower Sorbian: słuchaś Maguindanao: pakinig Malay: pasang telinga ms(ms) Maranao: makineg, pimakinog Marathi: ऐकणे (aikaNe) Norwegian: lytte no(no) Occitan: escotar Ojibwe: nandotan Pangasinan: odengel, pakanggel Pashto: غوږ نيول ps(ps) (γwag niwəl) Polish: nasłuchiwać Portuguese: escutar pt(pt) Russian: слушать ru(ru) (slúšat’) Scottish Gaelic: èisd gd(gd) Serbian: Cyrillic: слушати sr(sr) (impf.), послушати sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Roman: slušati sr(sr) (impf.), poslušati sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Slovak: načúvať sk(sk) Sotho: mamela st(st) Spanish: escuchar es(es) Swahili: sikiza sw(sw) Swedish: lyssna sv(sv) Tagalog: dinig tl(tl) (dinggin tl(tl)), kinig tl(tl) (pakinggan tl(tl)) Tamil: மெதுவா கேள் ta(ta) (meduvAkEl) Tausug: dumongog Telugu: ఆలకించు te(te) (aalakimcu) Thai: ฟัง th(th) (fang) Tongan: fanongo Turkish: dinlemek tr(tr) Ukrainian: слухати (slúxaty) (impf.) Urdu: سننا ur(ur) (sunnā) Vietnamese: chờ đợi, chờ, đợi cho Yiddish: הערן (hern)

to accept oral instruction

Afrikaans: luister af(af) Albanian: dëgjoj Ancient Greek: ἀκούω (akouō), εἰσακούω (eisakouō) Arabic: أطَاعَ (’aʈāʕa) Armenian: լսել hy(hy) (lsel), ենթարկվել hy(hy) (ent'arkvel) Bosnian: slušati bs(bs) (impf.), poslušati bs(bs) REDIRECT Template:pf. Bulgarian: послушвам (poslúshvam) (impf.), послушам (poslúsham) REDIRECT Template:pf., вслушвам се (vslúshvam se) (impf.), вслушам се (vslúsham se) REDIRECT Template:pf. Catalan: escoltar ca(ca) Cebuano: patalinghugi Chickasaw: ihaklo Croatian: slušati hr(hr) (impf.), poslušati hr(hr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Czech: poslouchat cs(cs) Danish: høre efter Dutch: gehoorzamen nl(nl), luisteren nl(nl) naar nl(nl) Estonian: kuulama Faroese: lurta eftir Finnish: kuunnella fi(fi), uskoa fi(fi) French: écouter fr(fr) Galician: atender gl(gl), oír gl(gl) German: hören de(de) Greek: ακούω el(el) (akoúo) Hawaiian: lohe Hebrew: Template:He-translation, Template:He-translation Hiligaynon: pamati Hindi: सुनना hi(hi) (sunnā) Hungarian: hallgat hu(hu) Icelandic: hlusta (á) Indonesian: mendengarkan id(id) Italian: dare it(it) ascolto it(it) Japanese: 聞く (きく, kiku) Kabyle: ssefled Korean: 듣다 (deutta), 들어주다 (deureojuda) Kurdish: Kurmanji: guhdarî kirin, guh dan Sorani: گوێ گرتن ku(ku) (gwê girtin)

Latin: auscultō la(la), audiō la(la) Latvian: klausīt Limburgish: loestere (nao/loc.) Lithuanian: klausyti lt(lt) Lower Sorbian: słuchaś Malay: dengar ms(ms) Marathi: सांगितलेले ऐकणे (sāngitalele aikaNe) Neapolitan: rà n’arecchia a Norwegian: lystre no(no) Occitan: escotar Ojibwe: babaamitam Pashto: غوږ نيول ps(ps) (γwag niwəl) Polish: usłuchać, słuchać Portuguese: ouvir pt(pt) Russian: слушать ru(ru) (slúšat’), слушаться ru(ru) (slúšat’s’a) Serbian: Cyrillic: слушати sr(sr) (impf.), послушати sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Roman: slušati sr(sr) (impf.), poslušati sr(sr) REDIRECT Template:pf. Slovak: poslúchať sk(sk) Slovene: ubogati sl(sl) Sotho: mamela st(st) Spanish: escuchar es(es) Swahili: sikiza sw(sw) Swedish: lyda sv(sv) Tagalog: dinig tl(tl) (dinggin tl(tl)), kinig tl(tl) (pakinggan tl(tl), makinig tl(tl)) Tamil: கேள் (kEL) Telugu: సమ్మతించు te(te) (sammatimcu) Thai: ฟัง th(th) (fang) Turkish: dinlemek tr(tr) Ukrainian: слухати (slúxaty) (impf.), послухати (poslúxaty) REDIRECT Template:pf. , слухатися (slúxatysja) (impf.) reflexive Urdu: سننا ur(ur) (sunnā) Vietnamese: nghe theo, tuân theo, vâng lời

to hear (something)

Afrikaans: hoor af(af) Albanian: dëgjoj Ancient Greek: ἀκούω (akouō) Arabic: سمع (sámeʕa) Armenian: լսել hy(hy) (lsel) Bosnian: čuti bs(bs) Bulgarian: чувам (chúvam) (impf.), чуя (chúya) REDIRECT Template:pf., слушам (slúsham) (impf.) Cebuano: patalinghugi Chickasaw: haklo Chinese: trad. 聽, simpl. 听 (tīng) Croatian: čuti hr(hr) Czech: slyšet cs(cs) Dutch: horen nl(nl) Egyptian: [[sḏm#Template:Egy|Template:Egyp]] <hiero>s-D:F21-m</hiero> Estonian: kuulma Faroese: hoyra fo(fo) Galician: oír gl(gl) German: hören de(de) Greek: ακούω el(el) (akoúo) Hawaiian: lohe Hebrew: Template:He-translation Hiligaynon: pamati Hindi: सुनना hi(hi) (sunnā), कान लगाना hi(hi) (kān lagānā) Hungarian: hallgat hu(hu) Irish: éist ga(ga) Italian: sentire it(it) Japanese: 聞く (きく, kiku) Kabyle: ssefled Khmer: ឮ (leu), ស្ដាប់​ឮ (sdəp leu) Korean: 들리다 (deullida) Kurdish: Kurmanji: guh lê bûn Sorani: گوێ لێبون ku(ku) (gwê lêbûn)

Latin: exaudiō la(la) Latvian: dzirdēt Limburgish: loestere, heure/huuere Lithuanian: girdėti lt(lt) Malay: dengar ms(ms) Marathi: ऐकणे (aikaNe) Neapolitan: sentì Norwegian: høre no(no) Ojibwe: noondaw, bizindaw Pashto: اورول ps(ps) (awrawəl) Persian: شنیدن (šenidan) Polish: wysłuchać pl(pl) Russian: слышать ru(ru) (slýšat’) Scottish Gaelic: cluinn gd(gd) Serbian: чути sr(sr), čuti sr(sr) Slovak: počuť sk(sk), slyšať sk(sk) Sotho: utlwa st(st) Spanish: oír es(es) Swahili: sikiza sw(sw) Swedish: lyssna sv(sv) Tagalog: dinig tl(tl) (dinggin tl(tl)), rinig tl(tl) (narinig tl(tl)) Tamil: கேள் ta(ta) (kEL) Telugu: విను te(te) (vinu) Thai: ยิน (yin) Tongan: fanongo Turkish: duymak tr(tr) Ukrainian: чути (čúty) REDIRECT Template:pf. Urdu: سننا ur(ur) (sunnā), کان لگانا ur(ur) (kān lagānā) Vietnamese: nghe, để ý đến

See also

• hear

Anagrams

• eilnst,
• enlist
• inlets
• leints
• silent
• tinsel

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Danish

Noun

listen

1. Definite form of liste.

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Dutch

Noun

listen

1. Template:Nl-noun-pl-of

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Spanish

Verb

Listen (infinitive listar)

1. second-person plural (ustedes) imperative form of listar.
2. second-person plural (ustedes) present subjunctive form of listar.
3. third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes^?) present subjunctive form of listar.

de:listen et:listen el:listen es:listen fa:listen fr:listen gl:listen ko:listen hr:listen io:listen id:listen it:listen kk:listen sw:listen ku:listen lo:listen hu:listen ml:listen nl:listen ja:listen no:listen oc:listen pl:listen ru:listen simple:listen fi:listen sv:listen ta:listen te:listen th:listen uk:listen vi:listen zh:listen