play by ear
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play by ear
verb plays by ear · playing by ear · played by ear
- To play guided by one's musical perception and intuition, rather than from a written score.
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To do by guessing, intuition, or trial and error; to react to events as they occur, often with risk of negative outcomes; to improvise.
If they ask for something we didn't prepare, we will have to play it by ear.
Similar: fly by the seat of one's pants, make it up as one goes along, wing it
Translations
Every language
verb play music guided by one's musical ear
| Español | tocar de memoria, tocar de oído |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 憑記憶演奏 /凭记忆演奏 píng jìyì yǎnzòu |
| Português | tocar de memória, tocar de ouvido |
| Français | jouer à l'oreille |
| Deutsch | nach Gehör spielen |
| Română | cânta după ureche |
verb do by guessing
| Español | ir viendo, seguir nuestro instinto, seguir mis instintos, ver qué sucede, ver lo que ocurrirá, improvisar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 看情況 /看情况 kàn qíngkuàng, 到時候再說 /到时候再说 dào shíhou zàishuō, 湊合 /凑合 còuhe, 見機行事 /见机行事 jiànjīxíngshì |
| Português | improvisar |
| Français | improviser |
| Deutsch | improvisieren, spontan entscheiden, es auf sich zukommen lassen, es nehmen, wie es kommt, sehen, kucken |
| Italiano | andare a sentimento |
| Русский | де́йствовать по обстоя́тельствам déjstvovatʹ po obstojátelʹstvam, импровизи́ровать improvizírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "play by ear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/play%20by%20ear. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. play by ear. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/play%20by%20ear "play by ear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/play%20by%20ear.Cite this
@misc{play_by_ear_2026,
title = {play by ear},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/play%20by%20ear},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
