Inklingo

How to Say "listened" in Spanish

English → Spanish

escuchado

es-coo-CHAH-doh/es.kuˈtʃa.ðo/

Past ParticipleA1General
Use 'escuchado' when forming compound tenses with 'haber' to indicate the action of actively listening to something.
A young child sitting cross-legged, holding a large, bright red seashell up to their ear, concentrating intensely on the sound inside.

Examples

Nunca he escuchado una ópera en vivo.

I have never listened to an opera live.

¿Quién ha escuchado ese extraño ruido?

Who has heard that strange noise?

Forming the 'Have Done' Tense

You combine a form of the helper verb 'haber' (like 'he', 'has', 'ha') with 'escuchado' to talk about actions that happened recently or actions that affect the present moment. For example, 'Ella ha escuchado' means 'She has listened.'

oyó

VerbA1General
Use 'oyó' (preterite of oír) when you accidentally perceived a sound or heard something without intending to pay attention.

Examples

Mi jefe oyó la conversación desde su oficina.

My boss heard the conversation from his office.

Active Listening vs. Perceiving Sound

The most common mistake is using 'oír' (to hear) when you mean 'escuchar' (to listen). Remember, 'escuchar' implies a conscious effort to pay attention to sound, while 'oír' simply means the sound reached your ears.

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