Listening — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the act of hearing attentively

hear with intention

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈɪsənɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈɪsənɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈɪsənɪŋ/

3 syllables Say it as /lˈɪsənɪŋ/.

Examples

you can learn a lot by just listening
they make good music--you should give them a hearing
Listen to the sound of this cello

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

mind take heed heed hear listen hearing

Parts of Speech

noun	the act of hearing attentively “you can learn a lot by just listening”
verb	hear with intention “Listen to the sound of this cello”
verb	listen and pay attention “Listen to your father”
verb	pay close attention to; give heed to “Heed the advice of the old men”

Word Forms

listen	verb	pay close attention to; give heed to
hear	verb	listen and pay attention
listener	noun	someone who listens attentively
listening	noun	the act of hearing attentively
hearer	noun	someone who listens attentively
hearing	noun	the act of hearing attentively
heed	noun	paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people)
mind	noun	attention

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Hören

der Akt des aufmerksamen Zuhörens

🇫🇷French

écoute

le fait d'entendre attentivement

🇪🇸Spanish

escuchando

el acto de escuchar atentamente

🇮🇹Italian

ascolto

l'atto di ascoltare attentamente

🇳🇱Dutch

luisteren

de handeling van aandachtig luisteren

🇵🇹Portuguese

audição

o ato de ouvir atentamente

🇷🇺Russian

слушаю

акт внимательного слушания

India

🇮🇳Hindi

सुनना

ध्यानपूर्वक सुनने की क्रिया

🇧🇩Bengali

শোনা

মনোযোগ সহকারে শোনার কাজ

🇮🇳Tamil

கேட்கிறது

கவனத்துடன் கேட்கும் செயல்

🇮🇳Telugu

వింటున్నాను

శ్రద్ధగా వినే చర్య

🇮🇳Marathi

ऐकत आहे

लक्षपूर्वक ऐकण्याची क्रिया

🇮🇳Gujarati

સાંભળવું

ધ્યાનપૂર્વક સાંભળવાની ક્રિયા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿದೆ

ಗಮನವಿಟ್ಟು ಕೇಳುವ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കേൾക്കുന്നു

ശ്രദ്ധയോടെ കേൾക്കുന്ന പ്രവൃത്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸੁਣਨਾ

ਧਿਆਨ ਨਾਲ ਸੁਣਨ ਦੀ ਕਿਰਿਆ

🇵🇰Urdu

سننا

توجہ سے سننے کا عمل

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

倾听

专心聆听的行为

🇯🇵Japanese

リスニング

注意深く聞くという行為

🇰🇷Korean

청취

주의 깊게 듣는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lắng nghe

hành động chăm chú lắng nghe

🇹🇭Thai

การฟัง

การฟังอย่างตั้งใจ

🇮🇩Indonesian

mendengarkan

tindakan mendengarkan dengan penuh perhatian

🇵🇭Filipino

nakikinig

ang pagkilos ng pakikinig nang maingat

🇲🇾Malay

mendengar

perbuatan mendengar dengan penuh perhatian

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الاستماع

فعل السمع بانتباه

🇮🇷Persian

گوش دادن

عمل شنیدن با دقت

🇹🇷Turkish

dinleme

dikkatle dinleme eylemi

🇮🇱Hebrew

הַקשָׁבָה

פעולת השמיעה בתשומת לב

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'listening'?

The primary meaning of 'listening' is 'the act of hearing attentively'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'listening' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'listening' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'listening' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'listening' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'listening' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'listening' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'listening' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'listening' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'listening' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'listening' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted