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Listen vs hear scenes in Korean

Listen vs Hear in real life 👂 🔴 듣다 [deutda] - actively listen

Listen vs hear scenes in Korean — Korean vocab chart
Listen vs hear scenes

How these words work together

In Korean, 듣다 means to listen actively, focusing on sounds or speech. 들리다 means to hear something that is audible, often without trying. 우연히 듣다 means to overhear by chance, and 못 들은 척 means to pretend not to hear or ignore sounds. These words help describe different ways of perceiving sound in everyday situations.

Words in this chart

KoreanRomanizationEnglish
듣다deutdalisten (actively)
들리다deullidahear (be audible)
우연히 듣다uyeonhi deutdaoverhear
못 들은 척mot deureun cheokignore sound

Example sentences

  1. 나는 음악을 듣고 있어요.

    I am listening to music.

  2. 밖에서 아이들 웃는 소리가 들려요.

    I can hear children laughing outside.

  3. 그는 내 이야기를 못 들은 척했어요.

    He pretended not to hear my story.

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