Word Choice: Here vs. Hear

‘Here’ and ‘hear’ are both common English words and sound identical when spoken. Nevertheless, these words are spelled differently and have very distinct meanings, so you won’t want to confuse them in your written work. But what exactly is the difference?

Here (This Place)

The main meaning of ‘here’ is ‘this place’ (and the opposite of ‘there’, meaning ‘that place’). It can be used as an adverb to specify where an action is taking place:

I’ll put the expensive vase here, on top of this teetering pile of books. Try not to knock it.

Or it can be used as a noun to indicate the place occupied by the speaker:

The party is only five minutes away from here.

It can also be used more figuratively to mean ‘at this time’ or ‘at this point’:

We’ve covered the main points, so we’ll take a break here and resume after lunch.

In every case, however, ‘here’ is used to indicate the location or position of the speaker.

Hear (Sense a Sound)

‘Hear’, meanwhile, is a verb meaning ‘to listen’ or ‘to sense a sound’. It can be used in a very literal sense:

Every time I hear Justin Bieber’s music, I die a little bit inside.

Or it can be used to mean ‘to be told something’:

I hear you don’t like Justin Bieber. Would you prefer a One Direction CD?

We can therefore use both ‘here’ and ‘hear’ in a sentence as follows:

Come here and hear me: I do not like either Justin Bieber or One Direction.

Here, ‘here’ is used to indicate the place of the speaker, while ‘hear’ shows that the speaker wants her interlocutor to listen to her and take on board her strong feelings about music. Quite right, too.

‘Hear, hear!’ or ‘Here, here!’

A quick detour via Idiom Corner is due at this point, since there’s occasional confusion online about the phrase ‘hear, hear’ (or, as some people misspell it, ‘here, here’).

The term is an old-fashioned way of expressing approval of a speech and should be spelled ‘hear, hear’, since it’s calling upon the audience to listen to the speaker.

Crying ‘here, here!’ would imply you wanted everyone to listen to you, instead!

Here or Hear?

Hopefully, the difference between these terms is now obvious. Luckily, it’s easy to avoid mix ups because ‘hear’ – which means ‘listen’ – contains the word ‘ear’ – the part of your body used for listening.

‘Here’, on the other hand, is wherever you happen to be at the time of speaking.

Thus, if you’re ever confused about which of ‘hear’ or ‘here’ to use in a sentence, give your earlobe a gentle tug and remember:

Here = This place

Hear = Listen (with your ears)