¿escuchas?
The Spanish phrase for "do you listen?" is ¿escuchas?
This phrase is used to ask if someone is paying attention to a sound or listening to what is being said. In Spanish, escuchar implies an intentional act of listening, which distinguishes it from oír, the verb used for the physical, often unintentional, act of hearing.
Which one should you use?
You can use ¿Escucha usted? to address a single person formally. If you are addressing a group of people, use the plural form ¿escuchan?
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing an individual formally, the form ¿escucha usted? is used. To address multiple people simultaneously, the plural form ¿escuchan? is required.
What mistakes should you avoid?
If you want to command someone to pay attention rather than asking a question, do not use the question form. Instead, use the imperative ¡Escucha! for informal situations or ¡Escuche! for formal ones.
Did you know?
- While escuchar means to listen, the related noun escucha is used in military and intelligence contexts to refer to wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping.
- The verb escuchar is a cognate of the English word 'acoustic', both deriving from the Latin 'auscultare', meaning to listen intently.
- In some Latin American countries, the phrase ¿me escuchas? is used colloquially to ask if someone is still on the line during a phone call, even if the audio is perfectly clear.
Examples in context
- ¿Estás escuchando música?Are you listening to music?
- ¿Escuchas la música?Do you listen to the music?
