German

Noun

Listen

1. plural of Liste

English

Verb

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:

     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.

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:

     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, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 4

     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.‎

   • 1945 May, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:

     Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest […].

4. (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.’

   • 1592, William 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, 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

• For usage examples of this term, see Citations:listen.

Synonyms

• (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 Wikisaurus:listen

Antonyms

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

Coordinate terms

• speak
• talk

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• hear

Anagrams

• enlist, inlets, leints, silent, tinsel

Danish

Noun

listen c

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

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

listen

1. Plural form of list

Anagrams

• instel, sintel, stel in

German

Etymology

From Liste +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɪstn̩]
• Hyphenation: lis‧ten
• Homophone: Listen

Verb

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

1. to list

Conjugation

Synonyms

• auflisten

Derived terms

• auflisten

Related terms

• Liste f

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• lista

Noun

listen m, f

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

Spanish

Verb

listen

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.

Swedish

Noun

listen

1. definite singular of list