akouō · hear, listen

What it means

akouō (ἀκούω) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “hear, listen”.

Also heed.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To perceive a sound, a voice or words with the ears.
2. To pay attention and obey.
3. To hear about something.
4. To understand what you hear.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Hear, listen. Abbott-Smith and Thayer add “to attend” and “to perceive and understand by hearing”. From the same verb come ὑπακούω, “obey” (literally “hear under”), and ἀκοή, “what is heard”.

• To hear a sound or a voice Acts 9:7
• To listen attentively and heed Matthew 17:5John 10:27
• “The one who has ears, let him hear” Matthew 13:9
• To hear the message Romans 10:14
• To understand what is heard 1 Corinthians 14:2

How we translate it

“Heard” 213 times, “hear” 114, “hearing” 27, “hears” 22, “listen to” 17, “listen” 15. It is translated “hear” or “listen to” according to the context (“listen to him”, Matthew 17:5); where the sense is to understand, “understands” (1 Corinthians 14:2).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• heard ×213
• hear ×114
• hearing ×27
• hears ×22
• listen to ×17
• listen ×15
• listening to ×7
• listens to ×5
• were listening ×2
• comes to the ears ×1
• others ×4

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×63
• Mark×44
• Luke×65
• John×58
• Acts×89
• Romans×5
• 1 Corinthians×4
• 2 Corinthians×2
• Galatians×3
• Ephesians×5
• Philippians×4
• Colossians×4
• 2 Thessalonians×1
• 1 Timothy×1
• 2 Timothy×4
• Philemon×1
• Hebrews×8
• James×3
• 2 Peter×1
• 1 John×14
• 2 John×1
• 3 John×1
• Revelation×46

• Matthew 2:3

  And hearing this, King Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

• Matthew 2:9

  And they, having heard the king, went on their way; and look, the star that they had seen at its rising was going ahead of them until it came and stopped over where the child was.

• Matthew 2:18

  “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning: Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are no more.”

• Matthew 2:22

  But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee,

• Matthew 4:12

  Now when he heard that John had been handed over, he withdrew into Galilee.

• Matthew 5:21

  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to the judgment.’

• Matthew 5:27

  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

• Matthew 5:33

  “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but you shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’

• Matthew 5:38

  “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

• Matthew 5:43

  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

• Matthew 7:24

  “So everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

• Matthew 7:26

  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

• Matthew 8:10

  Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

• Matthew 9:12

  But he, hearing it, said, “The healthy have no need of a doctor, but those who are ill.

• Matthew 10:14

  And whoever does not receive you or listen to your words, as you go out of that house or town, shake off the dust from your feet.

• Matthew 10:27

  What I tell you in the dark, say in the light; and what you hear in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.

• Matthew 11:2

  Now John, hearing in prison of the works of the Messiah, sent word through his disciples

• Matthew 11:4

  And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

• Matthew 11:5

  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

• Matthew 11:15

  The one who has ears, let him hear.

• Matthew 12:19

  He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

• Matthew 12:24

  But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, “This man does not drive out the demons except by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

• Matthew 12:42

  The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

• Matthew 13:9

  The one who has ears, let him hear.”

• Matthew 13:13

  This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

• Matthew 13:14

  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will indeed hear and never understand, and you will indeed see and never perceive.

• Matthew 13:15

  For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, so that they do not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.’

• Matthew 13:16

  But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.

• Matthew 13:17

  For truly I tell you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

• Matthew 13:18

  So you, hear the parable of the sower.

• Matthew 13:19

  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; this is the one sown along the path.

• Matthew 13:20

  And the one sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy;

• Matthew 13:22

  And the one sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

• Matthew 13:23

  And the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”

• Matthew 13:43

  Then the righteous will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear.

• Matthew 14:1

  At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus,

• Matthew 14:13

  Hearing this, Jesus withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself; and when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

• Matthew 15:10

  And summoning the crowd, he said to them, “Listen and understand:

• Matthew 15:12

  Then the disciples come up and say to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard your word?”

• Matthew 17:5

  While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and look, a voice from the cloud was saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

And 387 more times.