Learn Hardcore Russian: Я люблю слушать музыку у него дома.

Nominative (dictionary form): музыка – used for the subject of the sentence.
- e.g. Музыка громкая. – The music is loud.
Accusative (direct object): музыку – used after verbs like слушать, любить, слышать, etc.
- e.g. Я слушаю музыку. – I am listening to music.

So in слушать музыку, "music" is what you are listening to, so it must be in the accusative: музыку.

Why do we say люблю слушать (infinitive) instead of something like “I like listening”?

In Russian, when you like doing an action, the common pattern is:

любить + infinitive

So:

Я люблю слушать музыку. – I like to listen / I like listening to music.
Она любит читать. – She likes to read / She likes reading.
Мы любим гулять. – We like to walk / We like walking.

The infinitive слушать corresponds to English to listen or listening in this structure. English often uses a gerund (-ing form); Russian uses the infinitive instead.

You could also say:

Я люблю музыку. – I like music (in general).

But Я люблю слушать музыку focuses on the activity of listening, not just the fact that you like music as a thing.

What exactly does у него дома mean, and why do we use у here?

У него дома literally combines:

у
- него – “at his / by him / at his place”
дома – “(at) home”

Together, у него дома is best understood as “at his place / at his home.”

The preposition у with a person often means:

у + person (genitive) = “at the place of that person”
- у меня – at my place
- у тебя – at your place
- у него – at his place
- у неё – at her place
- у нас – at our place
- у вас – at your place
- у них – at their place

Then дома adds the idea “home”. So у него дома combines “at his” + “(at) home” → “at his home / at his place.”

What’s the difference between у него дома and в его доме?

Both can refer to someone’s home, but they differ in nuance:

у него дома – very natural, colloquial; emphasizes “at his place” as a personal space.
- Neutral, everyday choice when you mean at his home / at his place.
в его доме – literally “in his house (building)”.
- Slightly more formal or physical/locational: inside the house as a building or property.
- Often used when the building itself is in focus (architecture, ownership, etc.), not the informal idea of “his place.”

In your sentence, Я люблю слушать музыку у него дома sounds like:
I like listening to music at his place — natural, conversational.

Я люблю слушать музыку в его доме is grammatically correct, but sounds more like talking about the interior of the house rather than just “hanging out at his place.”

Why is it у него, not у он or у его?

Because у requires the genitive case, and него is the genitive form of он.

Pronoun forms:

Nominative: он – he (subject)
Genitive: его / него – of him / his

After у, you must use него (or его in some positions).

The special form него (with н-) is used after most prepositions, including у:

у него – at his (place)
без него – without him
для него – for him
к нему – to him
о нём – about him

So:

у он – incorrect (wrong case)
у его – would be possible only with a noun: у его брата (at his brother’s). Alone, it’s not how you say “at his (place)”.

To say “at his place”, you need у него.

What is дома, and how is it different from дом or в доме?

Дома is an adverb-like form meaning “at home.”

Compare:

дом – house, home (noun, nominative)
- Этот дом большой. – This house is big.
в доме – in the house (preposition + noun, locative meaning)
- Я в доме. – I’m in the house.
дома – at home (adverbial)
- Я дома. – I’m at home.

In у него дома:

у него – at his (place)
дома – (at) home

So together: at his home / at his place.

You do not say у него дом to mean “at his home”; that would sound like “he has a house” in some contexts. You need the adverbial дома here.

Could you also say Я люблю слушать музыку у него without дома?

Yes, Я люблю слушать музыку у него is grammatically correct and often used in conversation.

However, there is a nuance:

у него дома – clearly “at his home / at his place.”
у него – literally “at his / at his place / with him / by him.”

У него alone can mean “at his place,” but it is slightly more general:

Could be his home,
Or his office,
Or wherever he is (e.g., at his table, at his desk, etc.), depending on context.

Adding дома pins it down specifically as “at his home.”

How flexible is the word order? Can I move parts of this sentence?

Russian word order is fairly flexible. Your base sentence is:

Я люблю слушать музыку у него дома.

Other possible orders (all grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis):

Я люблю у него дома слушать музыку.
– Highlights the location a bit more: I like, at his place, to listen to music.
Музыку я люблю слушать у него дома.
– Emphasizes музыку (music): It’s music that I like to listen to at his place.
У него дома я люблю слушать музыку.
– Emphasizes у него дома: At his place is where I like to listen to music.

The original Я люблю слушать музыку у него дома is neutral and natural. As a learner, it’s best to stay close to this basic order until you’re more comfortable with Russian intonation and emphasis.

Can I omit я and just say Люблю слушать музыку у него дома?

Yes. Russian often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear.

Люблю слушать музыку у него дома.
– Still means I like to listen to music at his place.

The verb ending -ю in люблю shows the subject is я (I), so я can be dropped if the context is clear.

Including я:

can sound slightly more explicit or contrastive (e.g., I like it, as opposed to someone else),
is always safe and correct for learners.

Both forms are natural; omitting я is very common in casual speech.

Why is it слушать (imperfective) and not послушать?

In Russian, aspect matters:

слушать – imperfective: focuses on the process / repeated action (to be listening, to listen (generally)).
послушать – perfective: focuses on a single, complete event (to listen for a while / to have a listen).

When talking about what you like doing in general or as a habit, Russian uses the imperfective:

Я люблю слушать музыку. – I like listening to music (in general, habit).
Я люблю читать книги. – I like reading books.
Она любит смотреть фильмы. – She likes watching movies.

Я люблю послушать музыку is possible, but it often has a nuance like:

I like (from time to time) to put some music on and listen for a while
(emphasizing discrete occasions, not just the activity in general).

For a neutral “I like listening to music,” слушать (imperfective) is the natural choice.

What’s the difference between слушать музыку and слышать музыку?

слушать музыку – to listen to music
→ voluntary, active: you choose to pay attention to the music.
слышать музыку – to hear music
→ involuntary / passive: sound reaches your ears; you may or may not be paying attention.

Examples:

Я люблю слушать музыку. – I like listening to music.
Я слышу музыку из соседней квартиры. – I hear music from the next apartment (someone is playing it).

In your sentence, the meaning is about the activity you enjoy, so слушать музыку is correct.