What does 듣다 mean?
듣다 (deut-da) means: To hear / To listen.
Listening is closely tied to empathy. '내 마음을 들어줘' (Listen to my heart) is a plea for the other person to understand the hidden, unspoken feelings.
◆ Empathic Reception — To '듣다' in deep emotional contexts goes far beyond mere auditory perception; it is an active surrender to another person's inner world. When someone pleads '내 말을 들어줘', they are asking you to carry the weight of their unspoken vulnerabilities rather than just process sounds.
◆ Empathic Reception — To '듣다' in deep emotional contexts goes far beyond mere auditory perception; it is an active surrender to another person's inner world. When someone pleads '내 말을 들어줘', they are asking you to carry the weight of their unspoken vulnerabilities rather than just process sounds.
🔊 From part 2’s story
키스 — Ki-seu
오뚝한 코 — ottukhan ko, "high, straight nose"
눈매 — nunmae, "eye contour"
듣다 — Deut-da
내 말을 들어줘 — nae mal-eul deureo-jwo, "please listen to me"
들어주다 — deureo-juda
주다 — juda, "to give"
말하다 — Mal-ha-da
Other sides of 듣다
◆ auditory reception — Textbooks love to reduce '듣다' to a flat translation of 'to listen,' but natives know this baseline facet is strictly about auditory reception—sound entering the ears. It's often passive or involuntary, describing what your ears do whether you want them to or not. Learners constantly misuse it by thinking it implies deep attention or obedience, when really, it just means the sound made it past the cochlea.
◆ advice compliance — When a native says they 'listened' to someone in this sense, it has nothing to do with eardrums and everything to do with submission, respect, or surrender. Learners usually default to strict compliance verbs like '복종하다' or '따르다', completely missing that natives use '듣다' to describe everything from a rebellious teen finally obeying a mother's nagging to an adult yielding to a trusted friend's brutal honesty. If you don't 'listen' here, you're not just ignoring noise—you're defying authority or rejecting care.
◆ liquid leakage — While learners only know '듣다' as hearing or obeying, natives instinctively use it when something is persistently dripping—whether it's rain leaking through a cheap ceiling, sweat rolling down a hot neck, or grease melting off a late-night snack. It carries a subtle sense of unwanted or continuous descent, distinct from a sudden gush or pour.
◆ advice compliance — When a native says they 'listened' to someone in this sense, it has nothing to do with eardrums and everything to do with submission, respect, or surrender. Learners usually default to strict compliance verbs like '복종하다' or '따르다', completely missing that natives use '듣다' to describe everything from a rebellious teen finally obeying a mother's nagging to an adult yielding to a trusted friend's brutal honesty. If you don't 'listen' here, you're not just ignoring noise—you're defying authority or rejecting care.
◆ liquid leakage — While learners only know '듣다' as hearing or obeying, natives instinctively use it when something is persistently dripping—whether it's rain leaking through a cheap ceiling, sweat rolling down a hot neck, or grease melting off a late-night snack. It carries a subtle sense of unwanted or continuous descent, distinct from a sudden gush or pour.
Read the full story → · More on this word (part 2) →
🎙️ 듣다는 표기 그대로 읽지 않아요 — 실제로는 [듣따]로 소리나요 (경음화). 발음 연습하기 →
How it's actually used
- 내 말 좀 끝까지 듣고 나서 판단해 줘.
nae mal jom kkeutkkaji deutgo naseo pandanhae jwo.
Just listen to what I have to say until the end before judging.
💡 Used to ask someone to hear you out patiently. - 그 노래는 언제 들어도 질리지가 않아.
geu noraeneun eonje deureodo jillijiga ana.
That song never gets old no matter when I listen to it.
💡 Commonly used when talking about music or advice. - 내 얘기 좀 끝까지 듣고 나서 판단해 줄래?
nae yaegi jom kkeutkkaji deutgo naseo pandanhae jullae?
Could you at least listen to my story till the end before judging?
💡 A common plea to be heard out patiently during an argument.