escuchar
/eskuˈt͡ʃaɾ/
In Spanish, 'listen to' is translated as escuchar.
escuchar means to pay attention to a sound or to hear something with intention.
Which one should you use?
Use escuchar for paying attention to a sound (to listen), whereas oír is used for the physical act of hearing without necessarily paying attention.
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike the English 'listen to', the Spanish verb escuchar is transitive and does not require a preposition like 'a' before a direct object, such as in escuchar la música. The gerund form escuchando is used to express the continuous action of listening.
How do you pronounce it?
/eskuˈtʃaɾ/
Did you know?
- The verb escuchar and the medical term auscultar are actually doublets, meaning they both descend from the same original Latin root auscultāre.
- While escuchar is used for paying attention, Spanish speakers often use the command escucha as a filler word to introduce a secret or a new point, similar to how English speakers use 'look'.
- In some regions, telling someone no me escuches doesn't mean you want them to stop hearing your voice, but rather to ignore a specific lie or piece of gossip.
Examples in context
- Escucha esta canción, ¡es genial!Listen to this song, it's awesome!
- Pon atención a lo que te dice.Pay attention to what he/she is telling you.
- Me gusta escuchar música clásica.I like to listen to classical music.
- Tienes que escuchar al profesor.You have to listen to the teacher.
- ¿Quieres escuchar este podcast?Do you want to listen to this podcast?
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are at a cafe.
- MateoLucía, ¿quieres escuchar esta canción conmigo?Lucía, do you want to listen to this song with me?
- LucíaSí, me encanta escuchar este grupo.Yes, I love listening to this group.
- MateoEs importante escuchar la letra.It is important to listen to the lyrics.
- LucíaTienes razón, Mateo.You are right, Mateo.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry escuchar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries escuchar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
