Listen in Different Languages
Discover 'Listen' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Listen
Afrikaans luister | ||
Albanian degjo | ||
Amharic ስማ | ||
Arabic استمع | ||
Armenian լսել | ||
Assamese শুনক | ||
Aymara ist'aña | ||
Azerbaijani dinləmək | ||
Bambara ka lamɛn | ||
Basque entzun | ||
Belarusian слухайце | ||
Bengali শোনো | ||
Bhojpuri सुनीं | ||
Bosnian slušaj | ||
Bulgarian слушам | ||
Catalan escolta | ||
Cebuano pamati | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 听 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 聽 | ||
Corsican ascolta | ||
Croatian slušati | ||
Czech poslouchat | ||
Danish hør efter | ||
Dhivehi އަޑުއެހުން | ||
Dogri सुनो | ||
Dutch luister | ||
English listen | ||
Esperanto aŭskultu | ||
Estonian kuulata | ||
Ewe ɖo to | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) makinig ka | ||
Finnish kuunnella | ||
French ecoutez | ||
Frisian harkje | ||
Galician escoita | ||
Georgian მისმინე | ||
German hör mal zu | ||
Greek ακούω | ||
Guarani hendu | ||
Gujarati સાંભળો | ||
Haitian Creole koute | ||
Hausa saurare | ||
Hawaiian hoʻolohe | ||
Hebrew להקשיב | ||
Hindi बात सुनो | ||
Hmong mloog | ||
Hungarian hallgat | ||
Icelandic hlustaðu | ||
Igbo gee ntị | ||
Ilocano agdengngeg | ||
Indonesian mendengarkan | ||
Irish éist | ||
Italian ascolta | ||
Japanese 聴く | ||
Javanese rungokna | ||
Kannada ಕೇಳು | ||
Kazakh тыңдау | ||
Khmer ស្តាប់ | ||
Kinyarwanda umva | ||
Konkani आयकप | ||
Korean 들리다 | ||
Krio lisin | ||
Kurdish gûhdarkirin | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) گوێگرتن | ||
Kyrgyz угуу | ||
Lao ຟັງ | ||
Latin audite | ||
Latvian klausīties | ||
Lingala koyoka | ||
Lithuanian klausyk | ||
Luganda wuliriza | ||
Luxembourgish lauschtert | ||
Macedonian слушај | ||
Maithili सुनू | ||
Malagasy mihaino | ||
Malay dengar | ||
Malayalam ശ്രദ്ധിക്കൂ | ||
Maltese isma | ||
Maori whakarongo | ||
Marathi ऐका | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯇꯥꯕ | ||
Mizo ngaithla | ||
Mongolian сонсох | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) နားထောင်ပါ | ||
Nepali सुन्नुहोस् | ||
Norwegian lytte | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mverani | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଶୁଣ | ||
Oromo dhaggeeffachuu | ||
Pashto واورئ | ||
Persian گوش کنید | ||
Polish słuchać | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ouço | ||
Punjabi ਸੁਣੋ | ||
Quechua uyariy | ||
Romanian asculta | ||
Russian слушать | ||
Samoan faʻalogo | ||
Sanskrit शृणोतु | ||
Scots Gaelic èist | ||
Sepedi theeletša | ||
Serbian слушај | ||
Sesotho mamela | ||
Shona teerera | ||
Sindhi ٻڌو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සවන් දෙන්න | ||
Slovak počúvať | ||
Slovenian poslušaj | ||
Somali dhagayso | ||
Spanish escucha | ||
Sundanese ngadangukeun | ||
Swahili sikiliza | ||
Swedish lyssna | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) makinig ka | ||
Tajik гӯш кардан | ||
Tamil கேளுங்கள் | ||
Tatar тыңла | ||
Telugu వినండి | ||
Thai ฟัง | ||
Tigrinya ስማዕ | ||
Tsonga yingisela | ||
Turkish dinlemek | ||
Turkmen diňle | ||
Twi (Akan) tie | ||
Ukrainian послухай | ||
Urdu سنو | ||
Uyghur ئاڭلاڭ | ||
Uzbek tinglang | ||
Vietnamese nghe | ||
Welsh gwrandewch | ||
Xhosa mamela | ||
Yiddish הערן | ||
Yoruba gbọ | ||
Zulu lalela |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "luister" is said to derive from either Middle Low German or Dutch; both words mean "listen". |
| Albanian | The word "degjo" is a descendant of the Proto-Albanian word *kloud-jō, which is related to the Proto-Indo-European word *klew-, meaning "to hear or listen". |
| Amharic | The word "ስማ" in Amharic can also mean "understand" or "obey." |
| Arabic | The verb "استمع" in Arabic has an ancient root shared with the word for "ear" and "attention," implying a deep connection between listening and perception. |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "լսել" also means "to hear", "to obey", and "to accept". |
| Azerbaijani | The verb "dinləmək" also has the meaning of "to obey" in Azerbaijani. |
| Basque | Its origin is the Basque word |
| Belarusian | The word "слухайце" in Belarusian ultimately comes from the Proto-Slavic word *slūšati* meaning "to hear", and is related to the Russian word "слушать" and the Polish word "słuchać". |
| Bengali | শোনো can also mean ‘the act of hearing’ or ‘being aware’ |
| Bosnian | In addition to its primary meaning “listen,” “slušaj” can also mean “to understand” or “to obey.” |
| Bulgarian | The word "слушам" also means "to obey" or "to follow" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | Catalan "escolta" also means "bodyguard" and derives from the Italian "scortatore", meaning "one who accompanies." |
| Cebuano | The word "pamati" also means "to heed" or "to obey". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "听" means both "to listen" and "to obey", related to the oracle bone script "丁" meaning "to distinguish". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character "聽" (tīng) originally pictured a canopy or roof, hinting at the idea of "overhearing" or "eavesdropping". |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "ascolta" is also used to mean "eavesdrop" or "listen closely without being seen". |
| Croatian | Although the primary meaning of "slušati" is "listen," its root "sluh" derives from the Old Church Slavonic "slyšati," additionally meaning "to understand," "to discern," "to comprehend." |
| Czech | "Poslouchat" is also used in Czech to refer to the act of eavesdropping. |
| Danish | The Danish word "Hør efter" is also used to say "listen in" on something, indicating that a person is paying attention to a conversation without being directly involved in it. |
| Dutch | The verb 'luisteren' (to listen) also refers to the ability to sense or perceive through the organs of hearing, like "to hear". |
| Esperanto | « Aŭskultu » signifas « ausculter », et donc, par extension, « espionner ». |
| Estonian | "Kuulata" is a verb in Estonian that means to listen. It is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*kulē-," which also means to listen. The word "*kulē-" is thought to be onomatopoeic, meaning that it imitates the sound of listening. |
| Finnish | The word 'kuunnella' derives from 'kuulla' ('to hear'), and initially implied more attentive listening in contrast to mere 'hearing'. |
| French | The word "Écoutez" derives from the Latin "auscultare," meaning "to listen attentively." |
| Frisian | The word "Harkje" is derived from the Old Frisian word "herkia", meaning "to listen". In modern Frisian, it can also mean "to pay attention" or "to understand". |
| Galician | In Galician, "escoita" also means "guard" or "monitor" when used in a military context. |
| Georgian | The word "მისმინე" can also mean "to understand" or "to obey" in Georgian. |
| German | The German phrase "Hör mal zu" translates to "listen up" and is often used to get someone's attention or emphasize a point. |
| Greek | The verb “ἀκούω” was used in Greek to signify listening, or obeying, or even accepting, and in this sense “ἀκροάομαι” was the proper term for “listening.” |
| Gujarati | The word "સાંભળો" in Gujarati originated from the Sanskrit word "śṛṇoti", meaning "to hear, listen, or obey". |
| Haitian Creole | The word "koute" in Haitian Creole derives from the French word "écouter" and has an alternate meaning of "to understand". |
| Hausa | The word "saurare" can also mean "to understand" or "to obey" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | The word "hoʻolohe" also means "to obey" or "to follow orders" in Hawaiian. |
| Hebrew | The word "להקשיב" is derived from the root "שמע," which also means "obey" or "understand." |
| Hindi | The Hindi word 'बात सुनो' is derived from 'bat' (talk) and 'shun' (listen) and means |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "mloog" can also mean "to hear" or "to understand." |
| Hungarian | Hallgat also means 'pupil' from the German word 'Halle' (hallway), referring to university lecture halls where students gather to learn. |
| Icelandic | In Icelandic, the word "hlustaðu" not only means "listen," but also means "obey" or "pay attention." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "gee ntị" also means "pay attention" and is related to the word "ntị" (ear). |
| Indonesian | The word "mendengarkan" comes from "dengar", meaning "to hear", and the suffix "-kan", which turns verbs into adjectives denoting a passive or causative meaning. |
| Irish | The Irish verb éist also means ‘to hear, to understand, to obey, to heed, to attend' and originates from Proto-Indo-European *awes- and *au-. |
| Italian | The word "ascolta" can also mean "obey" or "follow" in Italian. |
| Japanese | The kanji for なぐ (kiku) originally meant 逃す (erabu) “to choose” as it contains the ideogram for “hand” (手 (te)) and “mouth” (口 (kuchi)). |
| Javanese | The word "rungokna" (listen) is cognate with the Malay and Indonesian word "dengar", a fact which hints to the strong cultural and linguistic ties between Javanese and Malay-speaking cultures. |
| Kannada | In some contexts, "ಕೇಳು" can also mean "ask" or "question". |
| Kazakh | The Kazakh word "тыңдау" also has the meaning of "to listen to one's advice" or "to obey". |
| Khmer | In Khmer, "ស្តាប់" can also refer to the act of paying attention to someone or something. |
| Korean | "들리다" can also mean "to appear" or "to be heard". |
| Kurdish | "Gûhdarkirin" originates from the Persian word "gush" (گوش) meaning "ear" and the suffix "-dār" meaning "having" or "keeping." |
| Kyrgyz | The word "угуу" is derived from the Mongolian "oogoo" and has the same meaning. |
| Lao | The word "ຟັງ" in Lao can also mean "to obey" or "to follow". |
| Latin | The word 'audite' ('listen') in Latin can also refer to the opening of a legal document. |
| Latvian | In Latvian, "klausīties" is a verb that primarily means "to listen," but it can also refer to "paying attention" or "obeying." |
| Lithuanian | The verbs klausīti and klausytis are often interchangeable. The latter carries a more attentive connotation. |
| Luxembourgish | The verb "lauschtert" is derived from the Latin word "auscultare", meaning "to give ear to". |
| Macedonian | "Слушај" also means "obey" and has the same root word as "уши" ("ears"). |
| Malagasy | The word "mihaino" or "mihaino mafy" in Malagasy can also mean "obey" and can be translated to "entendre" in French. |
| Malay | The word "dengar" can also mean "to obey" or "to follow". |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "isma" is also used as a noun in some contexts, with meanings such as "hearing" or "sound", and may originate from the Semitic root "smʿ". |
| Maori | Whakarongo in Maori also means "to understand" or "to pay attention to". |
| Marathi | In Sanskrit, 'ऐका' also means 'to understand' and is related to the word 'buddhi', meaning 'intellect' or 'understanding'. |
| Mongolian | "Сонсох" can also mean "to obey", stemming from the concept of attentive listening implying compliance. |
| Nepali | The Nepali word 'sunnuhos' may be derived from the Sanskrit word 'sru', which means 'to hear'. |
| Norwegian | "Lytte" is related to "lyt", meaning hearing, and "lyd", meaning sound. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word 'mverani' also refers to a type of dance and a musical instrument |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "واورئ" is also used to mean "understand" or "comprehend". |
| Persian | "گوش کنید" is derived from the word "گوش" (ear) and "کنید" (to do) and it literally means "to make your ear do something". |
| Polish | The Polish word "słuchać" is derived from an old Proto-Indo-European root *kleu-, meaning "to hear" or "to obey." |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "ouço" in Portuguese derives from the Latin "ausculto," meaning "to listen carefully." |
| Punjabi | "ਸੁਣੋ" also means "the Sun" in Punjabi, derived from the Sanskrit word "सूर्य" (sūrya). |
| Romanian | Asculta derives from Medieval Latin "auscultare", also meaning "to obey or pay attention." |
| Russian | Слушать derives from the root "слух" (hearing) and is cognate with words like "славить" (glorify) and "слово" (word). |
| Samoan | "Faʻalogo" is a verb that can mean "listen", "hear", or "understand" in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | Èist can also mean 'to obey', 'to understand' or 'to hear' and probably derives from Old Norse heyra, which meant 'to hear' and 'to obey'. |
| Serbian | The verb 'слушај' is cognate with 'slušati' in Croatian, 'slúchať' in Slovak, 'słuchać' in Polish, 'слухать' in Russian, and 'слухаць' in Belarusian, all meaning 'to listen'. |
| Sesotho | The word "mamela" can also refer to the act of understanding or paying attention. |
| Shona | "teerera" can also mean "wait" or "hold" in Shona. |
| Sindhi | "ٻڌو" also means to "adhere to" or "understand" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The verb can also be used to signify attention to or acceptance of something. |
| Slovak | The verb 'počúvať' in Slovak can also mean 'understand' or 'follow', emphasizing comprehension instead of the act of physically hearing. |
| Slovenian | In Russian, 'poslushat' has the meanings 'listen' and 'obey'. |
| Somali | Dhagayso is also used figuratively to mean "to pay attention to" or "to take into account" |
| Spanish | "Escucha" derives from the Latin word "auscultare", meaning "to listen attentively" or "to hear with care." |
| Sundanese | The term ngadangukeun may also refer to the act of eavesdropping. |
| Swahili | Sikiliza comes from the Arabic word "iskiliza," meaning "to hear or listen." |
| Swedish | "Lyssna" in Swedish is cognate with "listen" in English, and is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "*hlusnô-". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "makinig ka" also means "pay attention" or "understand". |
| Tajik | The word "гӯш кардан" in Tajik is also used to mean "to obey" or "to follow instructions". |
| Tamil | The verb கேளுங்கள் ( |
| Telugu | The verb "వినండి" can also mean "to obey or to follow". |
| Thai | Thai "ฟัง" "to listen" shares the same etymology as "fang" "room" and "feng" "to wait for, hope for", connoting an "openness" to the words of another. |
| Turkish | The Turkish word 'dinlemek' is derived from the Persian word 'din' ('religion'), and originally meant 'to obey'. |
| Ukrainian | The word "послухай" (poslukhay) can also mean "to obey" or "to follow" in Ukrainian, reflecting its root in the word "слух" (slukh), meaning "hearing" or "obedience." |
| Urdu | سنو, meaning "to hear" in Urdu, is cognate to the Persian شنیدن (shanidan). |
| Uzbek | The Uzbek word "tinglang" can also mean "obey" or "understand". |
| Vietnamese | The word "nghe" in Vietnamese can also mean "to play a musical instrument" or "to study". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "gwrandewch" is derived from the Proto-Celtic root "*kʷrend-ē-", meaning "to hear" or "listen". |
| Xhosa | The verb 'mamela' comes from the Proto-Bantu word '-mema', meaning 'to hear, listen'. |
| Yiddish | The verb in the expression "הערן אויפֿן געלט" (lit: listen to the money) means "to earn"} |
| Yoruba | "Gbọ́" is also an oriki (praise name) for the deity Oduduwa. |
| Zulu | Lalela is also a Zulu word representing a type of musical performance involving poetry and song. |
| English | The verb "listen" derives from the Middle English word "listnen", which in turn originates from the Old English "hlystan," meaning "to pay attention." |