Nghe: Hear, Listen, and Evidential Report | Vietnamese Grammar

Vietnamese nghe covers both receiving sound (“hear”) and deliberately attending to it (“listen”). The object and larger construction normally make the intended sense clear: nghe tiếng động is hear a noise, while nghe nhạc is listen to music. With nói, a clause, or a source phrase, nghe also marks reported evidence: the speaker presents information as something heard from others rather than directly established.

Because nghe does not conjugate, Vietnamese does not choose among equivalents of hear, heard, and hearing by changing its form. Aspect markers, complements, result words, and context do that work. The page maps those constructions and keeps factual knowledge with biết for its dedicated page.

Construction map

Frame	Function	Example
nghe + sound/content	hear or listen to	nghe tiếng chuông, nghe nhạc
nghe + person/source	listen to, obey, or accept advice	nghe bác sĩ, nghe lời mẹ
nghe thấy + sound	successfully perceive audibly	nghe thấy tiếng gọi
nghe nói + clause	report hearsay	nghe nói quán đã đóng cửa
nghe + particle/result	discern, replay, sound	nghe ra, nghe lại, nghe được

English requires listen to but not hear to. Vietnamese nghe takes its auditory object directly. There is no general equivalent of to before nhạc, radio, lời giải thích, or a person.

Hearing and listening

With an involuntary or unexpected sound, nghe means hear. Context often contains a sound noun such as tiếng: tiếng gõ cửa “a knock,” tiếng trẻ con khóc “the sound of a child crying,” or tiếng xe “vehicle noise.”

Đêm qua tôi nghe tiếng mưa đập vào cửa sổ.

Last night I heard the rain hitting the window.

Bạn có nghe tiếng ai gọi ngoài hành lang không?

Do you hear someone calling in the hallway?

With music, a recording, a lecture, or a speaker, nghe often means listen. Deliberateness can be made explicit with chăm chú “attentively,” kỹ “carefully,” or a command.

Tôi thường nghe nhạc khi đi bộ về nhà.

I often listen to music while walking home.

Các em nghe kỹ hướng dẫn trước khi bắt đầu nhé.

Listen carefully to the instructions before you begin.

Vietnamese usually lets the situation resolve hear versus listen. If the distinction itself matters, vô tình nghe thấy “happen to hear” contrasts with chú ý lắng nghe “listen attentively.” Lắng nghe is a deliberate, often empathetic or careful kind of listening; it is common in advice and formal discussion.

Điều cô ấy cần lúc này là một người chịu lắng nghe.

What she needs right now is someone willing to listen. (neutral/formal)

Nghe thấy, nghe được, and perceptual result

Nghe thấy makes achieved auditory perception explicit, parallel to nhìn thấy. It is useful when audibility or the result of listening is at issue. Bare nghe is often fully sufficient, so thấy is not obligatory every time English uses hear.

Tôi gọi mấy lần mà anh ấy không nghe thấy.

I called several times, but he did not hear me.

Nghe được can express ability or successful access: a sound is audible, a recording is intelligible, or information has been obtained by hearing. In Tôi nghe được một tin, it can mean “I heard/learned a piece of news,” not simply that the ears functioned. The exact reading depends on the object.

Ngồi cuối phòng tôi vẫn nghe được người thuyết trình nói gì.

Even from the back of the room, I could still hear what the presenter was saying.

Nghe ra means discern or recognize from sound: identify a voice, accent, tune, or implication. Nghe lại means listen again or play something back.

Dù bản ghi âm khá rè, tôi vẫn nghe ra giọng của chị Mai.

Although the recording was quite distorted, I could still recognize Mai’s voice.

Bạn nghe lại đoạn ghi âm này xem địa chỉ là gì.

Listen to this recording again and see what the address is.

Listening to people and following advice

Nghe + person can mean listen to that person, but in commands and advice it often implies comply with or heed them. Nghe lời + person more explicitly means obey or follow someone’s advice. Tone and social relation matter: telling an adult phải nghe lời tôi can sound controlling.

Tôi nghe theo lời bác sĩ, nghỉ chạy vài ngày để đầu gối hồi phục.

I followed the doctor’s advice and stopped running for a few days so my knee could recover.

Con nhớ nghe lời bà và về nhà trước khi trời tối nhé.

Remember to listen to Grandma and come home before dark.

Nghe theo + advice/person means follow or act according to the source. It highlights compliance after hearing, not merely auditory attention. Nghe lời is frequent in family interaction; làm theo lời khuyên can be more neutral in adult or professional contexts.

💡

When the object is a person, ask whether the sentence means auditory attention or compliance. Nghe anh ấy nói is “listen to him speak”; nghe theo anh ấy is “follow his lead/advice.”

Evidential report: nghe nói and nghe đâu

Nghe nói + clause means “I hear/heard that...” or “reportedly.” It marks an indirect source without naming that source. Vietnamese may omit an explicit first-person subject because the evidential frame already anchors the report to the speaker’s information.

Nghe nói cuối tuần này đường lên núi sẽ đóng để sửa chữa.

I hear that the road up the mountain will be closed for repairs this weekend.

Tôi nghe nói quán đó ngon lắm nhưng chưa có dịp thử.

I’ve heard that restaurant is very good, but I haven’t had a chance to try it.

This construction presents the proposition as reported, not guaranteed. It differs from biết “know,” which normally presents information as part of the subject’s knowledge. A careful speaker can continue with nhưng tôi không chắc “but I’m not sure.”

Nghe đâu + clause is a conversational hearsay marker meaning “apparently/I hear” (informal). It often conveys greater distance or uncertainty than a direct source report. Theo... “according to...” is the clearer formal choice when a named source matters (formal).

Nghe đâu chủ mới định đổi toàn bộ thực đơn.

Apparently the new owner plans to change the entire menu. (informal)

Theo thông báo của trường, ngày mai sinh viên sẽ học trực tuyến.

According to the school’s announcement, students will study online tomorrow. (formal)

Do not add rằng automatically after nghe nói. The fixed sequence directly introduces its clause: nghe nói anh đã về, not normally nghe nói rằng anh đã về in everyday speech. Tôi nghe thông báo rằng... is possible in more explicit formal syntax, but it is a different frame.

Sounding a certain way

Nghe + adjective/description can evaluate how something sounds to the listener: nghe hay “sounds good,” nghe lạ “sounds strange,” nghe hợp lý “sounds reasonable.” The understood stimulus is often a proposal, explanation, name, or utterance.

Kế hoạch đó nghe hợp lý, nhưng chúng ta cần kiểm tra ngân sách trước.

That plan sounds reasonable, but we need to check the budget first.

This is an auditory or discourse impression, not a general copula. Có vẻ is broader “seems,” while nghe có vẻ explicitly signals that the impression comes from what was heard.

Nghe giọng anh qua điện thoại, tôi thấy anh có vẻ mệt.

From your voice over the phone, you sound tired to me.

Aspect, negation, and questions

Đang nghe presents active listening, đã nghe a prior hearing/listening event, từng nghe past experience, and chưa nghe “have not heard/listened yet.” Final rồi commonly marks that the relevant information or audio has now been heard. None of these changes the form nghe.

Tôi đang nghe bản tin nên lát nữa sẽ gọi lại.

I’m listening to the news, so I’ll call back later.

Negation may deny attention (không nghe lời “does not obey”) or successful perception (không nghe thấy “cannot hear”). Questions include nghe gì, nghe ai, có nghe thấy...không, and experiential đã từng nghe...chưa.

Minimal five-way contrast

Function	Vietnamese	Meaning
affirmative	Tôi nghe tiếng chuông.	I hear a bell.
negative	Tôi không nghe rõ tên anh ấy.	I cannot hear his name clearly.
question	Bạn có nghe thấy tiếng nước chảy không?	Can you hear running water?
aspect-marked	Tôi đã nghe bài này nhiều lần rồi.	I have listened to this song many times.
idiomatic collocation	Nghe nói cô ấy sắp chuyển nhà.	I hear she is about to move house.

From report to direct confirmation

— Nghe nói tối nay ban nhạc diễn ở quảng trường. — Ai nói vậy? — Mình nghe chị Linh nói. — Để mình gọi hỏi; biết chắc rồi hãy rủ mọi người.

— I hear the band is performing in the square tonight. — Who said that? — I heard Linh say it. — Let me call and ask; let’s invite everyone only after we know for sure.

The first nghe nói packages hearsay without a named source. Nghe chị Linh nói then identifies the person and the speech event. The final biết chắc contrasts reported evidence with settled knowledge. That shift is lost if every form is translated only as English hear.

💡

Use nghe nói to show where your epistemic footing comes from: report rather than direct verification. It is a source marker, not just a past-tense version of nghe.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding a preposition because English says “listen to.” The auditory object follows nghe directly.

❌ Tôi nghe đến nhạc khi làm việc.

Incorrect calque of ‘listen to music’ — đến is not required before the object.

✅ Tôi nghe nhạc khi làm việc.

I listen to music while working.

2. Treating nghe nói as certain knowledge. The construction explicitly presents the claim as reported and can be followed by uncertainty.

❌ Nghe nói chuyến tàu bị hoãn, nên chắc chắn tin đó là đúng.

Faulty inference: a hearsay report alone does not make it certain that the train is delayed.

✅ Tôi nghe nói chuyến tàu bị hoãn, nhưng chưa kiểm tra lại.

I hear the train is delayed, but I haven’t checked.

3. Confusing listening with obedience. Add lời or theo when compliance is the intended meaning.

❌ Cuối cùng anh ấy nghe tôi và đổi kế hoạch.

Ambiguous — this may mean only that he heard or listened to me.

✅ Cuối cùng anh ấy nghe theo lời khuyên của tôi và đổi kế hoạch.

In the end he followed my advice and changed the plan.

4. Using nghe alone when failed audibility is central. Không nghe thấy clearly expresses failure to perceive the sound.

❌ Vì nhạc quá to, tôi không nghe lời cô ấy.

Wrong for ‘I couldn’t hear what she said’; không nghe lời means not obey her.

✅ Vì nhạc quá to, tôi không nghe thấy cô ấy nói gì.

Because the music was too loud, I couldn’t hear what she was saying.

Key Takeaways

Nghe + sound/content can mean hear or listen; context and manner clarify intentionality.
Nghe thấy foregrounds achieved auditory perception, while nghe được often adds ability or successful access.
Nghe lời/nghe theo concern compliance, not only sound reception.
Nghe nói and informal nghe đâu mark a claim as reported rather than directly verified.
Learn the frames around unchanged nghe instead of trying to build an English-style conjugation table.

Now practice Vietnamese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Vietnamese →