hear vs listen

Hear is the physical sense of sound hitting the ear; listen is the mental act of paying attention to that sound.

• hear

  the involuntary perception of sound

  I could hear the neighbors arguing through the thin apartment walls last night.

• listen

  deliberate attention to a sound

  Please listen carefully to these instructions before you begin the exam.

• Wrong: Can you listen the birds singing in the garden?→Right: Can you hear the birds singing in the garden?

• Wrong: I heard to the podcast during my morning commute.→Right: I listened to the podcast during my morning commute.

Hear is passive; Listen is an action.