Commonly Confused Words: Hear vs. Here

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What does each word mean?

If you hear something, it means you are perceiving a sound with your ear.

Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word.

Here is hear used in some example sentences:

  • She heard the rumble of the approaching train.
  • Did you hear what happened at the party?
  • She didn’t want to hear what they were saying about her.

Click here to find the Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word hear.

The word here is used by a speaker or writer to refer to the place or position they are currently in.

Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word.

Here is here used in some example sentences:

  • We’ve been meeting here at the community centre for years.
  • I can’t wait to get out of here.
  • On this page, we have used hyperlinks on the word here to direct students to other parts of the Spellzone website.

Click here to find the Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word here.

Where does each word come from?

Hear comes from the Old English ‘heran’ which means ‘to hear, perceive by the ear, listen (to), obey, follow; accede to, grant; judge’. ‘Heran’ comes from the Proto-Germanic ‘hauzjan’.

Here has been used in English since around 1600. It comes from the Old English ‘her’ meaning ‘in this place, where one puts himself; at this time, toward this place’. The phrase ‘here and now’ dates back to 1829.

Are there any tricks to help remember the difference between these words?

  • Hear has the word ear in it. Say the following sentence to yourself: ‘You hear with your ear.’
  • Here is the opposite of the word there. There contains the word here.

 

What words do you constantly mix up? Let us know and we’ll cover them in our Commonly Confused Words series.

Sources: The Online Etymology Dictionary.


20 Jul 2017
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