A perfect rhyme for “listen” ends in /ɪsən/, the sound from its stressed vowel to the end of the word. Near rhymes differ by a single sound, which is enough to end a line beside “listen” without matching it exactly. Most of the near rhymes end in one of two sounds, /ɪʃən/ or /ɪʒən/.
Spoken aloud, “listen” is /ˈlɪsən/, respelled LIH-suhn, two syllables with the stress on the first. A rhyme has to match from that stressed syllable to the end, and the syllables before it are free to differ.
“Listen” has 1 perfect rhyme in common use (christen) and 58 near rhymes.
In This Page
Perfect Rhymes With Listen
- Christen
Near Rhymes With Listen
Among the 58 near rhymes for “listen”, the most common ending is /ɪʃən/, as in position and mission. After that comes /ɪʒən/, the ending of decision and television. A near rhyme for “listen” differs from its /ɪsən/ ending by a single sound, which is what separates it from a perfect rhyme.
Near Rhymes For Listen Ending In -ion: Position And Mission
Said with /ʃ/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”, position, mission and condition end in /ɪʃən/.
- Position
- Mission
- Condition
- Permission
- Competition
- Tradition
- Commission
- Audition
- Addition
- Suspicion
- Ambition
- Transmission
- Musician
- Magician
- Expedition
- Politician
Listen Rhymes With An -ision Ending: Decision And Television
Common English has 13 words ending in /ɪʒən/, each said with /ʒ/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”.
- Decision
- Television
- Vision
- Division
- Collision
- Precision
- Supervision
- Incision
- Provision
- Revision
- Circumcision
- Envision
- Indecision
Listen Rhymes Ending In -itten, Like Written And Bitten
With /t/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”, the ending becomes /ɪtən/, as in written, bitten and kitten.
- Written
- Bitten
- Kitten
- Smitten
- Handwritten
- Rewritten
- Unwritten
Prison And Risen As Near Rhymes For Listen
Prison, risen and imprison share the ending /ɪzən/, which is /z/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”.
- Prison
- Risen
- Imprison
- Arisen
Words Like Given And Driven That Rhyme Loosely With Listen
In given, driven and forgiven the ending is /ɪvən/, which is /v/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”.
- Given
- Driven
- Forgiven
Listen Rhymes Such As Hidden And Ridden
Hidden, ridden and bedridden are near rhymes on /ɪdən/, which is /d/ in place of the /s/ of “listen”.
- Hidden
- Ridden
- Bedridden
Lesson /ɛsən/, chicken /ɪkən/, religion /ɪdʒən/ and villain /ɪlən/ also rhyme loosely with “listen”, though no other common word shares their endings.
Rhymes On The Final Syllable Of Listen
“Listen” ends on an unstressed /-ən/, a syllable it shares with twelve common words. Only that last syllable matches and the stressed syllables differ, so the rhyme is weak on the page. Songwriters and poets still use rhymes of this kind, because listeners do not hear the difference in stress when the beat is on the final syllable.
Consonance Rhymes With Listen
In consonance, two words have the same stressed vowel and end on consonants of the same kind, and this is the nearest match any single word has to “listen”. The endings are listed from the nearest match to the loosest, and 38 words on six endings qualify.
Consonance For Listen Like Whistle And Missile
Whistle, missile and dismissal end in /ɪsəl/, on the stressed vowel of “listen” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Whistle
- Missile
- Dismissal
Consonance For Listen Like Missing And Kissing
Words ending in /ɪsɪŋ/ share the stressed vowel of “listen” and end on a related consonant.
- Missing
- Kissing
- Hissing
Consonance For Listen Like Mechanism And Terrorism
The /ɪzəm/ ending appears in eight words, each pronounced with the stressed vowel of “listen”.
- Mechanism
- Terrorism
- Criticism
- Communism
- Journalism
- Capitalism
- Organism
- Racism
Consonance For Listen Like Sitting And Hitting
Against “listen”, the /ɪtɪŋ/ ending matches the stressed vowel and differs after it, as in sitting, hitting and quitting.
- Sitting
- Hitting
- Quitting
- Fitting
- Committing
- Shitting
- Splitting
- Spitting
Consonance For Listen Like Killing And Willing
Killing, willing and filling end in /ɪlɪŋ/, on the stressed vowel of “listen” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Killing
- Willing
- Filling
- Drilling
- Thrilling
- Spilling
- Fulfilling
- Chilling
Consonance For Listen Like Shipping And Slipping
Words ending in /ɪpɪŋ/ share the stressed vowel of “listen” and end on a related consonant.
- Shipping
- Slipping
- Ripping
- Dripping
- Skipping
- Flipping
- Tripping
- Whipping
Does Women Rhyme With Listen
People often ask whether these words rhyme with “listen”. Only the sounds from the stressed vowel on count, so two words can share four letters and still not rhyme.
| Word | Rhymes With Listen | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Christen | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Women | Near rhyme | /m/ in place of the /s/ of "listen", near enough for the end of a line |
| Given | Near rhyme | /v/ in place of the /s/ of "listen", near enough for the end of a line |
| Person | Consonance only | Same stressed vowel, and the final consonant is of the same kind rather than the same sound |
| Can | No | Only the unstressed last syllable matches, and the stressed syllable is different |
| Fasten | No | Same letters at the end, but said /æsən/ |
| Hasten | No | Same letters at the end, but said /eɪsən/ |
Near Rhymes For Listen By Word Class
The near rhymes for “listen” include 41 nouns, 13 verbs and four adjectives, and each word is counted once, under the part of speech it takes most often. Position is both a noun and a verb, so it is listed once, under the part of speech it takes more often. Among the verbs, envision, written and bitten are in the same word class as “listen”, which is a verb.
| Word Class | Near Rhymes |
|---|---|
| Nouns | Position, mission, condition, permission, competition, tradition, commission, audition, addition, suspicion, ambition, transmission |
| Verbs | Envision, written, bitten, smitten, rewritten, risen, imprison, arisen, driven, forgiven, hidden, ridden |
| Adjectives | Handwritten, unwritten, bedridden, stricken |
Animals And Foods That Rhyme With Listen
Meaning has no effect on whether two words rhyme, so the rhymes for “listen” name every kind of thing, including kitten and pigeon among animals. Nothing among body parts, colors, flowers, cities and places rhymes with “listen” at all.
| Kind Of Word | Rhymes |
|---|---|
| Animals | Kitten, pigeon |
| Foods | Delicatessen, chicken |
The Ending Sound In Listen
The rhyme sound of “listen” is /ɪsən/, which consists of the stressed vowel /ɪ/ followed by /s/, /ə/ and /n/. One other common word, christen, ends in the same sound. This is a two-syllable ending, so the rhyming word has the same stressed vowel and every sound after it.
Rhyme Sounds Close To Listen
“Little”, “getting” and “thinking” are pronounced with the /ɪ/ vowel of “listen” and end on a different consonant, so each one is a separate rhyme sound. Writers who need a different ending can use any of them, and the word given for each ending is the most common one.
| Ending | Most Common Word | Rhymes On It |
|---|---|---|
| /ɪtəl/ | Little | 15 |
| /ɪtɪŋ/ | Getting | 32 |
| /ɪŋkɪŋ/ | Thinking | 10 |
| /ɪldrən/ | Children | 4 |
| /ɪmən/ | Women | 5 |
| /ɪvɪŋ/ | Living | 9 |
| /ɪljən/ | Million | 14 |
| /ɪvən/ | Given | 4 |
| /ɪsɪŋ/ | Missing | 6 |
| /ɪdɪŋ/ | Kidding | 6 |
Words That Look Like Listen But Do Not Rhyme
“Listen” shares its -sten spelling with fasten, hasten, tungsten and moisten, and none of them rhymes with it. Fasten ends in /æsən/ and hasten ends in /eɪsən/, whereas “listen” ends in /ɪsən/. They end on /n/, as “listen” does, so the match is partial: the closing consonants agree and the vowel is different.
| Word | Ending Sound | Closing Sound Shared With Listen |
|---|---|---|
| Fasten | /æsən/ | /n/ |
| Hasten | /eɪsən/ | /n/ |
| Tungsten | /ʌŋstən/ | /n/ |
| Moisten | /ɔɪsən/ | /n/ |
Rhyme Schemes With Listen
“Listen” fits the common stanza forms through near rhymes and consonance, since it has no perfect rhyme. Lines with the same letter end on the same rhyme sound.
| Scheme | Line endings | How The Lines Pair |
|---|---|---|
| ABAB | Listen / position / christen / mission | Alternating lines, with the near rhymes on the B lines and the perfect pair on the A lines. |
Words Often Listed As Rhymes For Listen
Rhyming dictionaries also list ison, which share the ending of “listen” but are not words in common use.
FAQs
Only one common word rhymes perfectly with “listen”, and that word is christen. They have the full ending /ɪsən/, a sound few English words share. Writers who need a different word can use near rhymes such as women, given and position.
Things you can name that rhyme with “listen” include prison, kitchen, chicken and addition. They are near rhymes, since no everyday object name ends in the full /ɪsən/ of “listen”.
Counting perfect and near rhymes together, “listen” has 59 rhymes in common English. Only one of them ends in the full /ɪsən/, and the other 58 are near rhymes.
The closest near rhymes for “listen” are decision, mission, written, condition, hidden and permission. They share the stressed vowel /ɪ/ with “listen”, and the sounds after it differ. Poets choose them for lines where an exact match sounds forced.
Yes, “ison” is pronounced with the full ending of “listen” and rhymes with it. It is not a word in everyday use, so rhyming dictionaries record it while the counts on this page leave it aside.
“Listen” ends in the same letters as fasten, hasten and tungsten, yet none of them rhymes with it. The letters match, but the stressed vowel in each differs from the /ɪ/ of “listen”.
“Listen” has two syllables, said LIH-suhn, with the stress on the first. The rhyme for “listen” starts at that stressed syllable, so the syllables before it do not count.
