listening
lis·ten·ing/ˈlɪs.nɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
listening is spelled L-I-S-T-E-N-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables (lis·ten·ing). It appears 46 times per million words in written English, the 2,204th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, listening means “Of something or someone that listens” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in listening?
| Letters | 9: L-I-S-T-E-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: lis·ten·ing |
| In writing | 46 times per million words; the 2,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is listening?
Listening appears 46 times per million words in written English, the 2,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce listening?
- /ˈlɪs.nɪŋ/
- /ˈlɪs.ə.nɪŋ/
Listening has 3 syllables, split lis·ten·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-listening.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of listening
- listenings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does listening mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of something or someone that listens.
Any listening person can tell she's lying.
- 2
Of something that is used in order to hear or to improve the ability to hear.
He could hear better when he used his listening device.
- 3
Of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds.
noun
- 1
An act by which something or somebody is listened to.
This symphony grows on me more and more with each listening.
- 2
An educational exercise involving listening.
OK, students, today we're going to do a couple of listenings about the environment, then a reading about crime.
- 3
Skill or ability of perceiving spoken language.
You can improve your listening well by watching English-language films.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of listen
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Listening in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act by which something or somebody is listened to:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does listening come from?
From Middle English listnynge, lustninde, from Old English hlysnende, equivalent to listen + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).