"Listen" vs "Hear"

Recently, I was asked the difference between

using "to listen" and "to hear".

The difference lies in the intent:

--If you are focused on a sound, you are "listening".
--Other sounds that you aren't paying attention to, but notice, are sounds you "hear". Or, if you can't identify the source of a sound, you "hear" it.

For example:

Listen:
--If you have your headphones on, you are "listening" to music.
--If you are having a conversation with someone, you are "listening" to what they are saying.

Hear (sounds you notice):
--If you and a friend are walking in the park, and some other people nearby are having a conversation, you may "hear" what they are saying when you pass by.
--If you are in your apartment and you catch some of the sounds from your neighbor's apartment, you can "hear" your neighbors.

Hear (sounds you can't identify the source):
--A friend is calling your name in the store, but you don't see them--> you can "hear" them calling for you. Once you start to focus on the sound and wait for them to call you again, you are "listening" for it.
--You lose your phone in your house, and your friend calls it--> you can "hear" it ringing. Once you start waiting for the source of the sound, you are "listening" for it.

Another way to look at it:

"To listen" is to -want- the sound to come to you. You want to receive the sound.
"To hear" is when you receive a sound, whether you want to or not.

Make sense?


*Keep my 97% Rule in mind, haha. It's in my profile if you need to read it 😂