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German Phrase

Ich höre nicht gut.

/ɪç ˈhøːʁə nɪç ɡuːt/
Meaning"I don’t hear well."
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Meaning

Literally ‘I don’t hear well.’ It is used to tell someone that your hearing ability is impaired, either temporarily (e.g., in a noisy place) or permanently (e.g., due to a hearing problem).

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When to use

Use this sentence when a conversation partner asks if you can hear them, after a medical check‑up, or when you need to explain why you might miss part of a discussion.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Ichhörenichtgut

1

Personalpronomen – Ich

‘Ich’ is the first‑person singular pronoun and is always capitalised in German.

2

Verbkonjugation – höre

‘höre’ is the present‑tense 1st‑person singular of the verb ‘hören’ (to hear). The stem vowel changes to ‘ö’ and the ending ‘‑e’ marks the ich‑form.

3

Negation – nicht

‘nicht’ negates the following element; placed before the adverb ‘gut’ it negates the whole statement ‘ich höre gut’.

4

Adverb – gut

‘gut’ modifies the verb and means ‘well’. In this context it describes the quality of hearing.

🗨In Conversation

A

Kannst du mich noch gut verstehen?

Can you still understand me well?

Ich höre nicht gut.

I don’t hear well.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ich hör nicht gut.

    The verb must be conjugated to the ich‑form: ‘höre’, not the stem ‘hör’.

  • Ich höre nicht gut hören.

    Placing ‘nicht’ after the verb and before the adverb is correct; ‘nicht gut hören’ would split the negation from the verb.

  • Ich höre nicht schlecht.

    While ‘schlecht’ is acceptable, learners sometimes replace ‘gut’ with ‘schlecht’ without adjusting the sentence structure, e.g., ‘Ich höre nicht schlecht’ (which means the opposite).

↔Alternatives

  • Ich kann nicht gut hören.

    I can’t hear well.

  • Mein Gehör ist nicht gut.

    My hearing isn’t good.

  • Ich höre schlecht.

    I hear poorly.

de

Cultural Tip

In everyday German people more often say “Ich höre schlecht” or “Ich kann nicht gut hören.” The construction with ‘nicht gut’ is perfectly correct but sounds a bit more formal. Remember that ‘nicht’ always precedes the word it negates, so ‘nicht gut hören’ would be wrong – the negation must stay with the verb phrase: ‘ich höre nicht gut.’