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Entendre or écouter? Eight questions on hearing and listening

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Hear a sound or choose to listen? Learn entendre and écouter with simple French examples, sound-source picture cards and eight questions with feedback.

In short

Entendre means hear: J’entends un bruit. Écouter means listen: J’écoute une chanson. A sound can reach you while you are paying attention to something else.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

entendreto hear

Focus: the sound reaches you

entendre + un son / une personne

J’entends un chien dans la rue.
I can hear a dog in the street.

Je vous entends bien.
I can hear you clearly.

écouterto listen to

Focus: you pay attention

écouter + quelque chose / quelqu’un

J’écoute de la musique.
I’m listening to music.

J’écoute mon amie.
I’m listening to my friend.

French uses écouter directly before the thing or person: écouter la radio, écouter le professeur. In écouter de la musique, de la musique means some music; de is part of that noun phrase.

What can you hear or listen to?

Study first: three useful present forms
Subjectentendreécouter
je / j’j’entendsj’écoute
nousnous entendonsnous écoutons
vousvous entendezvous écoutez

What is the difference between entendre and écouter?

J’écoute la radio, mais je n’entends pas bien.

I’m listening to the radio, but I can’t hear clearly.

J’écoute gives the activity. Je n’entends pas bien gives the sound problem.

Je t’entends, mais je ne comprends pas.

I can hear you, but I don’t understand.

Comprendre means understand. Hearing the words and understanding them are separate steps.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    A dog suddenly barks outside. Which sentence reports the sound reaching you?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    J’entends un chien.. J’entends un chien reports hearing the dog. You have noticed the sound.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    You choose a song and pay attention to it. What are you doing?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    J’écoute une chanson.. Écouter describes giving your attention to the song you have chosen.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Your caller is speaking, but the sound is too quiet. Which reply states the sound problem?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je ne vous entends pas.. Je ne vous entends pas means you cannot hear the caller. Je ne vous écoute pas says you are not listening.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Your friend wants to explain something. Invite them to continue: “I’m listening.”

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je t’écoute.. Je t’écoute tells your friend they have your attention and can continue.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    What does J’écoute le professeur mean?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    I’m listening to the teacher.. Écouter le professeur means listening to the teacher. French puts le professeur directly after the verb.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Choose the present form of entendre with nous.Nous ___ un bruit.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    entendons. The nous form is entendons: Nous entendons un bruit means we can hear a noise.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    What is the teacher asking you to do?Écoutez la question.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Listen to the question.. Écoutez is the request form of écouter when addressing a group or someone as vous.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    You hear every word but the vocabulary is new. Which sentence fits?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je t’entends, mais je ne comprends pas.. Je t’entends confirms the sound reaches you; je ne comprends pas identifies the difficulty with meaning.

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