Hear or here?
hear is a verb meaning “To perceive sounds through the ear”; here is an adverb meaning “In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker)…”. Use hear as a verb and here as an adverb. They sound the same (/ˈhɪə/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) here is about 5.5 times as common as hear.
What is the difference between hear and here?
| hear | here | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, interjection | adverb, adjective, noun, interjection |
| Meaning | To perceive sounds through the ear To perceive (a sound, or something producing a sound) with the ear, to recognize (something) in an auditory way you hear me | In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there At this point or stage (in a process, argument, narration, etc.) Alive |
| Example | I was deaf, but now I can hear | You wait here while I fetch my coat |
| Forms | hears, hearing, heard | none |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɪə/ /ˈhɪɚ/ [ˈhɪɹ̩] | /ˈhɪə̯/ /ˈhɪː/ /ˈhɪjə/ |
| In writing | 170 times per million words | 933 times per million words |
Sources: hear and here in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hear and here
hear
- 1
To perceive sounds through the ear
I was deaf, but now I can hear
- 2
you hear me
- 3
To perceive (a sound, or something producing a sound) with the ear, to recognize (something) in an auditory way
I could hear them quarreling upstairs, but didn’t really listen to their argument
- 4
To exercise this faculty intentionally; to listen to
- 5
To listen favourably to; to grant (a request etc.)
Eventually the king chose to hear her entreaties
- 6
To receive information about; to come to learn of
- 7
To be contacted by
I haven't heard from you in a while; how have you been?
- 8
To listen to (a person, case) in a court of law; to try
Your case will be heard at the end of the month
here
- 1
In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there
You wait here while I fetch my coat
- 2
Alive
I'm not dead yet! I'm still here!
- 3
This place; this location
Here is where I met my spouse twelve years ago
- 4
slangUsed semi-assertively to offer something to the listener
Here, now I'm giving it to you
- 5
At this point or stage (in a process, argument, narration, etc.)
I've had enough of peeling potatoes. I'm stopping here
- 6
This point or stage in time, conceptualised as a location
I'd like to continue my story, but here is where I must stop
- 7
IrelandUKslangUsed for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence when expressing an opinion or want
Here, I'm tired and I want a drink
- 8
In this matter
You say that all men are born equal, but here I must disagree with you
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hear or here?
hear appears 170 times per million words; here 933 times per million words.
hear 170 times per million wordshere 933 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hear vs here?
“hear vs here” is searched about 720 times a month on Google and 30 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“here vs hear”, “hear or here”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.