"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 😂