hear and listen (to)

hear: meaning

Hear is the ordinary word to say that something ‘comes to our ears’.

• Suddenly I heard a strange noise. (not Suddenly I listened to a strange noise.)
• Can you hear me?

listen (to): meaning

Listen (to) is used to talk about paying attention to sounds that are going on, in progress. It emphasises the idea of concentrating, trying to hear as well as possible. You can hear something without wanting to, but you can only listen to something deliberately. Compare:

• I heard them talking upstairs, but I didn’t really listen to their conversation.
• ‘Listen carefully, please.’ ‘Could you speak louder? I can’t hear you very well.’
• I didn’t hear the phone because I was listening to the radio.

Complete experiences: hear

Listen (to) is mostly used to talk about concentrating on experiences that are going on, in progress. To talk about the result of listening: experiencing or understanding the whole of a performance, speech, piece of music, broadcast or other communication, we generally use hear. Compare:

• When she arrived, I was listening to a recording of Brendel playing Beethoven. (not … I was hearing …)
  I once heard Brendel play all the Beethoven concertos. (not I once listened to Brendel play …)
• I wish I had more time to listen to the radio. (not … to hear the radio.)
  Did you hear / listen to the news yesterday?

hear not used in progressive forms

Hear is not usually used in progressive forms. To say that one hears something at the moment of speaking, can hear is often used, especially in British English (see here).

• I can hear somebody coming. (not I am hearing …)

listen and listen to

When there is no object, listen is used without to. Compare:

• Listen! (not Listen to!)
• Listen to me! (not Listen me!)

note

There are similar differences between see, look (at) and watch. (see here)

For hear + object + infinitive/-ing, (see here).