Key Facts
- Hangul: 들리다 (deullida)
- Meaning: to be heard
- Level: B1
- Syllables: 3 (들 · 리 · 다)
- Stem: 들리
- Conjugation class: regular
- Object marking: intransitive
- Polite present: 들려요
What Does 들리다 Mean?
The sound takes 이/가 (소리가 들려요).
The sound simply reaches you, so you do not choose it: 음악 소리가 들려요 is what you notice, while 듣다 is what you do on purpose. The pattern 잘 안 들려요 is the natural way to say that a place is too noisy or too quiet to hear properly.
Typical subjects are voices and noises, as in 말소리가 들리다. If you do name the listener, it takes 에게.
How Do You Pronounce 들리다?
Deullida has 3 syllables (들 · 리 · 다) and is said as it is spelled.
How Do You Use 들리다 in a Sentence?
음악 소리가 들려요.
I can hear music.
들려요 is the polite present form.
옆집 소리가 잘 들렸어요.
I could hear the neighbors well.
들렸어요 is the polite past form.
여기는 소리가 잘 안 들려요.
It is hard to hear sounds here.
안 들려요 is the negative with 안 (short) form.
Usage Notes
Three examples cover three situations: music drifting in, a neighbour's voice through the wall, and a place where sound does not carry. In every one the sound is the subject with 이/가, and the listener does not need to be named. Add 잘 to say you hear clearly, and put 안 before the verb to say you cannot hear. The matching verb for sight is 보이다, which works in the same way.
How Does Deullida Conjugation Work?
들리다 is regular: 리 and the ending 어 contract to 려, giving 들려요 and 들렸어요.
The pattern behind 들리다 (to be heard) is taught step by step in polite present recipe.
Because you cannot decide to be able to hear something, 들리다 has no natural 'want to' form, and the table leaves that cell out.
들리다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 들려요 | ||
| Polite past | 들렸어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 들릴 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 들리겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 들립니다 | ||
| Formal past | 들렸습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 들릴 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 들려 | ||
| Casual past | 들렸어 | ||
| Casual future | 들릴 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 들리세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 들려서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 들리면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 들리는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 들린 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 들릴 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 들려요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 들리지 않아요 |
Before a noun, 들리다 (to be heard) becomes 들리는 (present) or 들린 (past); as a link between clauses it is 들려서 for 'because' and 들리면 for 'if'.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 들렸어요 | [들려써요] |
| Future (plan) | 들릴 거예요 | [들릴꺼예요] |
| Future (guess) | 들리겠어요 | [들리게써요] |
| Formal present | 들립니다 | [들림니다] |
| Formal past | 들렸습니다 | [들렫씀니다] |
| Formal future | 들릴 것입니다 | [들릴꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 들렸어 | [들려써] |
| Casual future | 들릴 거야 | [들릴꺼야] |
| Long negative | 들리지 않아요 | [들리지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 소리를 들려요
Correct: ✓ 소리가 들려요
Why: 들리다 means 'can be heard', so the sound takes 이/가.
들리다 Versus Similar Words
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 듣다 | 듣다 is listening on purpose, with 을/를. |
| 보이다 | 보이다 is the seeing counterpart: can be seen. |
| 들르다 | 들르다 is a different verb meaning 'drop by'. |
Checking Sound on a Video Call
Two coworkers are testing a microphone before a meeting. One moves closer to the microphone and checks again.
Mina
제 목소리가 들려요?
Je moksoriga deullyeoyo?
Can you hear my voice?
Alex
조금 전에는 잘 안 들렸어요.
Jogeum jeoneneun jal an deullyeosseoyo.
A moment ago, I couldn’t hear you well.
Mina
지금은 잘 들려요?
Jigeumeun jal deullyeoyo?
Can you hear me clearly now?
Alex
네, 이제 잘 들려요.
Ne, ije jal deullyeoyo.
Yes, I can hear you clearly now.
The speaker asks about their voice, but the other person answers about whether the sound reaches them. 들렸어요 places the earlier problem in the past. 지금은 contrasts “now” with the earlier moment, and 이제 marks the improved situation. Once the voice has been named, both speakers can leave it out.
Useful Combinations for Sound Quality
잘 들려요 means “I can hear it well” or “it comes through clearly”. 잘 describes how well the sound reaches the listener. In a microphone check, the sentence confirms the audio connection; it does not necessarily mean the listener understood every word.
잘 안 들려요 means “I can’t hear well”. Keep 잘 before 안: the phrase reports difficulty hearing, rather than a total absence of sound. It is useful when a voice is faint, the room is noisy, or the connection is poor. 안 들려요 is the more direct “I can’t hear it”.
소문이 들리다 means that a rumor reaches someone’s ears. The sound is figurative here: information becomes known through what people say. 들리다 alone does not confirm whether the rumor is true, and it does not identify who first said it.
What 들리다 Does and Does Not Tell You
A sound can be audible without being clear enough to understand. On a call, 들려요 answers “is the sound reaching you?” Understanding the explanation is a separate question. This distinction helps when you need someone to repeat a sentence even though their microphone is working.
In a drama, a character may stop and ask 들려? after noticing a noise. The short ending suits someone they speak to casually. During a meeting, 들려요? is a polite check. The sound can remain unspoken when both people are reacting to the same noise.
들릴 거예요 predicts that something will be audible. It may describe what happens after changing seats or increasing the volume. Although the table labels this as a future plan, the verb usually expresses an expected result here. A listener does not plan the sound’s arrival in the same way they plan an intentional action.
Which Spelling and Particle Do You Need?
들리다 is regular even though its related verb 듣다 has a ㄷ-irregular pattern. Start from the actual stem 들리, then attach the ending. 리 plus 어 contracts to 려 in 들려요. The ㄷ change belongs to 듣다, so there is no ㄷ to change in 들리다.
소리가 들려요 makes the sound the subject. English often puts “I” first in “I can hear a sound”, but Korean does not need that listener as its grammatical subject. This is why copying the English sentence structure can lead to the wrong object marker.
들르다, “to drop by”, is a separate verb. A place name in a sentence about making a short visit points toward 들르다. A voice or noise that becomes audible points toward 들리다. Their similar spelling makes checking the dictionary form more useful than guessing from the first syllable.
Words for Naming What You Hear
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 목소리 | voice | Use it when checking whether someone can hear you. |
| 말소리 | sound of speech | Focuses on people talking, even without clear words. |
| 소음 | noise | Often unwanted background sound. |
| 음량 | volume | The level you can adjust on a device. |
The computer and internet vocabulary lesson gives the technical setting for calls and audio problems.
Mini Drill: Make the Sound the Subject
- Choose the marker: 목소리____ 들려요.
- Give the polite past of 들리다.
- Give the conditional form meaning “if it can be heard”.
- Add 안 to 잘 들려요 to report difficulty hearing.
Show drill answers
- 가: 목소리가 들려요.
- 들렸어요.
- 들리면.
- 잘 안 들려요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 들려요 necessarily mean you understood the words?
- Which verb means “drop by”: 들리다 or 들르다?
- Is 들리다 itself ㄷ-irregular?
Show answers
- No. It reports that the sound is audible.
- 들르다.
- No. Its stem is 들리 and it conjugates regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say 'I Can Hear Music' in Korean?
음악 소리가 들려요. The sound takes 이/가, and the listener is usually left out.
How Is 들리다 (to be heard) Different from 듣다?
듣다 is listening on purpose, with 을/를; 들리다 says a sound reaches you whether you try or not.
How Is 들리다 (to be heard) Different from 보이다?
보이다 is the seeing counterpart: something can be seen. Both make the thing perceived the subject.
Is 소리를 들려요 Correct Korean?
No, use 소리가 들려요. 들리다 means 'can be heard', so the sound takes 이/가.
What Is the Polite past of 들리다?
For 'to be heard', the polite past is 들렸어요; the polite present is 들려요 and the formal present is 들립니다.
How Do You Say 'I Can't Hear' with 들리다?
안 들려요, the short negative. 잘 안 들려요 says you can't hear well.
Which Words Are Related to 들리다?
- 듣다 (to listen/hear)
- 보이다 (to be seen)
- 시끄럽다 (noisy)
- 조용하다 (quiet)
- Korean verb dictionary
What Should You Learn Next?
Try other forms of 들리다 in the Korean verb conjugator, then continue with 듣다 (to listen/hear). More entries like 들리다 (to be heard) sit together in the Korean verb dictionary.