escucho
/eskut͡ʃo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I listen" is translated into Spanish as escucho.
escucho is a statement used to say that you are paying attention to a sound.
Which one should you use?
Use escucho for the intentional act of listening, whereas oigo refers to the involuntary sense of hearing.
How does it change in a sentence?
The o ending on escucho indicates the first-person singular present tense, so the pronoun yo (I) is often omitted. When the object being listened to is a person, you must use the preposition a before their name or pronoun.
How do you pronounce it?
/eskutʃo/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking regions, the verb escuchar can be used to mean 'to obey'. A parent might tell a child to escucha as a way of saying 'behave' or 'do as you are told'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying escucho or te escucho during a conversation serves as a 'backchannel' to show empathy and active engagement, rather than just confirming that sound is reaching the ears.
- When escucho refers to following advice, it functions more like the English word 'heed' than 'listen'. In this context, the speaker is not just processing sound but accepting a suggestion.
Examples in context
- Escucho a Lady Gaga.I listen to Lady Gaga.This sentence is useful for practicing how to use escucho with a person.Tatoeba #13715965 by ecorralest101, translation #13100389 by rul
- A veces escucho jazz.I listen to jazz sometimes.This sentence is useful for using escucho with a genre of music.Tatoeba #2700738 by Shishir, translation #2377647 by CK
- Escucho a Katy Perry.I listen to Katy Perry.Tatoeba #13715973 by ecorralest101, translation #13715970 by Babelball
- Escucho con atención lo que tiene que decir el profesor.I listen attentively to what the teacher has to say.
- Escucho a mis superiores para aprender de su experiencia.I listen to my superiors to learn from their experience.
- Estoy atenta a tus indicaciones.I am attentive to your instructions.
- Le presto atención a las palabras del director.I pay attention to the director's words.
- Siempre pongo atención cuando me hablas.I always pay attention when you talk to me.
- Si tienes algún problema, aquí estoy, te escucho.If you have any problems, I'm here, I listen to you.
- Te escucho cuando necesitas desahogarte.I listen to you when you need to vent.
- 19 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are in a quiet room.
- ElenaNo escucho nada ahora.I don't hear anything now.
- JavierYo sí, hay un ruido.I do, there is a noise.
- ElenaEspera, ahora sí escucho.Wait, now I do hear it.
- JavierEs el viento afuera.It is the wind outside.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
