Escucharse

Escucharse is a Spanish verb formed as the reflexive counterpart of escuchar. It is used to indicate that the action of listening is directed at the subject itself or is shared among participants. The main senses are to listen to oneself—often in the sense of paying attention to one’s own thoughts, feelings, or voice—and, in plural subjects, to listen to one another.

As a reflexive verb, escuchar follows the standard conjugation pattern of regular -ar verbs combined with the appropriate reflexive pronoun: me escucho, te escuchas, se escucha, nos escuchamos, os escucháis, se escuchan. When the action involves more than one person, the reflexive pronoun expresses reciprocity: nos escuchamos means “we listen to each other.” The form can also be used with the explicit phrase escucharse a sí mismo to emphasize self-directed listening.

Usage notes and nuance: the most common applications are self-listening, such as attending to one’s own thoughts or feelings, and reciprocal listening in conversations or collaborative settings. It is not typically used to replace the transitive escuchar with a direct object; in that case one would say escuchar a alguien (listen to someone). In contexts of self-reflection or self-help, escucharse a sí mismo is frequent.

Etymology: escucharse comes from escuchar, which derives from Latin auscultare, meaning to listen or to hear, historically related to listening to sounds within the body or environment. Related terms include escucha (listening) and escucha activa (active listening).