Listen: Meaning, Usage, and Common Mistakes

Meaning 1：hear attentively (listen)

listen 🔊

/ˈlɪs.ən/

To pay attention with your ears in order to hear and understand sounds, speech, or music.

Person listening attentively to a speaker with focused expression

hear attentively 🔊

➕

/hɪr əˈtɛntɪvli/

To deliberately pay attention to sounds or speech in order to understand or gain information.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English hlysnan, related to Proto-Indo-European *kley- (to hear).

💡 Mnemonic

List sounds mentally, then 'en' (engage) to actively hear: listen.

📖 Example

At the café, she put down her phone to listen carefully to her friend's exciting news. 🔊 At the café, she put down her phone to listen carefully to her friend's exciting news.

🔗 Collocations

listen to – Pay attention to someone or something in order to hear

listen for – Try to hear a specific sound or signal

listen in – Eavesdrop or secretly hear a conversation

🔄 Synonyms

hear (v.) – Perceive sound with the ear

attend (v.) – Give one's attention to something

heed (v.) – Pay close attention to advice or warning

🚫 Antonyms

ignore (v.) – Refuse to pay attention to

disregard (v.) – Pay no attention to

neglect (v.) – Fail to care for or pay attention to

🌱 Derivatives

listener (n.) – A person who listens

listening (n./adj.) – The act of paying attention to sound; attentive

listenable (adj.) – Pleasant or easy to listen to

📖 Cultural Story

Listen comes from Old English hlysnan, from PIE *kley- (to hear). Cognates include Latin clueo and Greek κλύω (klýō).