This is an all English podcast, episode 1527, Noise versus Sound in English.

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Make some noise.

Today we find out what the key differences are between the words noise and sound. Listen in. To build a higher level of natural fluency.

Hey, Michelle, how are you doing today? What's going on? Hey, Lindsay. Hey, guys. How are you? Oh, my gosh. Feeling good. Feeling good.

We're in late February. I can't believe it. Moving.

I know. Yeah. Yes, yes. Exactly. Exactly. So I am excited for today's episode. It is. I had a conversation with a student and they were asking about the difference between the words noise and sound.

Oh, this is such a good question. I love the questions that come in from our students, don't you, Michelle?

Yes, yes. Yes, exactly. And I just thought this was a great one.

And let's do an episode about it, because it is like if you think about it, it's I mean, even since I started planning this episode a couple of times, it's come up or I've heard one or the other and I kind of listen and I think, huh, OK, let's think about that. Oh, my gosh.

I know now that I think about it, I hope we have some good plans for this episode because I'm not sure what the difference is.

Well, I'm going to help you. I'm going to help us out to help with that. All right. Thank goodness you're here for the rescue, Michelle.

But speaking of our students, I do want to shout out to one very special listener of all ears, English. And who is that?

Michelle shout out to Fernanda. Right.

So Fernanda is recognized by Spotify as one of the top ten all ears English listeners in twenty twenty. So. Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for listening. Yeah.

Fernanda is in Brazil and she said that she found English a little while ago and she just started bingeing on our show. Guys, I'm sure there are more of you out there who are in this top 10 list if you are one of them. Well, first of all, check your Spotify stats, your listening stats from twenty twenty. If you are on that list, send me an email and do it all English.

Com because we want to recognize you. That's a big deal.

It is. Thank you. Yeah.

Shout out. All right Michel. Let's get into it. So sound versus noise. Right. OK, awesome.

So all right. So we're going to talk about sound first, but guys also head over to episode ten eighty three.

OK, so here we talk about the word sound, a different expression. So this is called Make Your English More Sound with today's episode. So definitely head on over and listen to that one.

Yeah. So that's kind of using the word sound as an adjective, right. So that's another topic altogether. That's really good.

OK, so let's get that today.

All right. So a sound. What does it mean, Michel? OK, well, this is of course, using our ears, right? So it deals with listening, something that's heard. So we talk a little bit more about this on the other episode.

But for example, I love the sound of a baby laughing OK.

Or the sound of rain is very relaxing to me. So that's let's just start with sound. Right?

OK, so but we're going to quickly get into noise and talk about, OK, now, because right. If I say that, it almost sounds like, well, how is there a difference between the noise and a sound. Right from the contrast them.

Yeah. Yeah, we have to do that. So what is a noise.

OK, so it's the same thing as sound guys and that's the end of the episode. Just that's it.

Like just kidding. Just kidding. So it's not as positive I guess. Right. Something that is not as nice to hear because what I heard in common with those examples of sound are positive things.

Right. Exactly. Things that are positive. So a noise is many times something that you don't want to hear.

OK, right.

Why was that scary noise, for example, what was that scary noise. Right. Right.

Or there's a noise coming from the dishwasher. I need someone to check it out. That actually happened to me and we had some problems. I'll just say that. But usually if you hear a noise from your dishwasher, it's not a great thing. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh, that sounds terrible. Oh, my gosh. Flooding. Hello.

Yes. Yes, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

So, yeah, I mean, so that I would say is the biggest difference.

And I mean you will hear times when it's like, well couldn't that be either one.

Yeah that's true. I mean it could be either one. Yeah. You know, it really could. I mean I might say oh there's a sound coming from the dishwasher, but to me it's a noise sentence, more accurate there. But there will be times when you can find, oh, maybe one could be used or the other. But that's a really good distinction to start off with, guys, when you're trying to understand the difference here.

Yeah, I think, Michel, that's a good foundation, positive versus negative. And there's always going to be that crossover. I'm thinking about horror movies. I like. Oh, I hear that sound. Did you hear that noise?

There could be some crossover there.

Right, right, right, right, right, right.

But I think a general rule. Yeah. I also think of the noise is kind of like interrupting something like like a sound like I think of it maybe being more in the background, like, oh, what sounds do you hear right now? Oh, I hear the sound of Yeah.

Water. I hear the sound of my air conditioning. Where is the noise. I feel like it's more like, oh what's that. Noise, right, like, for example, the word noisy, so noisy is usually negative. Right, right, right.

Exactly. Yeah.

You want to noisy, you're being noisy, but it's so noisy here. Right. In Jersey, we're always hearing the sirens and that kind of thing. Like, that's sort of a negative thing, right? Right. Right, right. Right.

So, of course, I mean, sound can also be a verb, right? So, you know, you you can't noise can't really you can't say something.

Noises. No, don't don't say that.

Guys don't think. Right. Right, exactly. And we talk about again sound and the other episodes. So like for example you could say like oh that sounds nice. Or that sounds like a good idea.

Right. So it's like giving a you know, a feeling. Right. Or just that sound good to you. OK, so here we are.

Like you said, Michel, we're using sound now as a verb, not so much as a noun. So another example that sounds like a good idea. The way I hear that, it sounds like a good idea. Sounds good. Super common, right? Exactly. Or. Yeah, if I want to know your opinion, does that sound good to you? Right. What's your feeling on it? Oh yeah.

I'm all the time. Whenever we email together as a team, I often finish my email like sound good, sound good or make sense. You know, we've shared that with our audience. Does our experience.

I'm looking for agreement. I'm looking for, you know, do understand. Does it make sense? Does that work for you?

Sound good. Right. OK, really. Yeah. Yeah. And Lindsay like to get back to Noisey. Right. So then that way we don't, we can't describe something as sound right now. The same noise.

Exactly. Exactly. I love it.

Do you have any idioms or expressions here with these words. We just do. And this first one, it was wild. I was planning this episode and I had the news on in the background and I was writing it down. And all of a sudden I heard that the exact same time. I think I had moved down a little bit. But right away I heard a politician say, we need to stop listening to this noise. Right?

Oh, that's weird. You're having some weird coincidences when it comes to planning. Oh, I don't know what's going on after you plan enough of these. Just just how they're everywhere.

The words are again, you guys know we're teaching you real English, not textbook English. I love it.

It's so. It's so. Yeah. This is a saying listening to this noise or sometimes you hear like all that noise. Right, just calling something noise. Like don't listen to all that noise. What does that mean.

Yes. All that noise. It's nonsense, right. It is a distraction. Right. It's just noise. Yeah. OK, you know there's a lot of noise online these days, so you want to really learn something.

It's really hard to focus. A lot of it is just noise, social media, things that just are kind of a waste of time.

So the question is, how do we really focus and cut out all the noise? Right. Yeah, exactly.

Exactly. I love it. So, yeah, we're sticking a noise with with these ones right now. So what's the next one. Lindsy.

So make noise. Right. So we tell you, come on guys, make some noise. Right, clap your hands. Something exciting is happening. Maybe there's a parade or a performance. Really comment to say that. Right, Michel.

Right. But also it can be used in a way that's not necessarily about like clapping your hands. It can be about standing up for what you believe in. Right. So, like, kind of like maybe like if you're protesting or something like that. So you could say something like the union made a lot of noise about the way its members had been treated. Yeah.

So here I am using this in a more figurative way. Of course, verbally, they're also probably making noise, standing outside with signs, but in a figurative sense, they're making a lot. They're calling a lot of attention to themselves.

Right, right, right, right, right. Did you hear that? Google employees just unionized. Did you hear about that? Yeah. Google, there's a union now at Google, which I found really interesting.

It's that apparently it's not everyone there, but it's just like a certain group of employees that are trying to unionize to to get better treatment or around gender issues or pay or I'm not sure. Interesting. So things are happening around like labor these days find interesting.

It'll be interesting to see where that goes. Yeah, for sure.

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OK, what else, Michelle, what else? All right, and then the last one is a chunk, it's background noise, right? So this is more of a chunk. So what what does that mean? I mean, this is this what a lot with the recording, for example.

For sure. We always hear those sirens in New York for you. Right. And for me, there's my puppy. Sometimes he's trying to get out of the office and he knocks on the door. He like scratches on the door. There's background noise.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly. What about now? I just was thinking of, like, white noise, like you do when you sleep. Do you like to have any, like, white noise or any sound in the background?

I mean, and what does that mean. Yeah, a white noise machine. So people even you can even have this on your phone through an app now rise or some people have an actual machine that just lets out like a humming noise, a light humming or sometimes the sound of the ocean. I don't need it.

Like I can sleep without it, but some people need it. What about you, Michelle? I actually just the past couple of nights have been turning it on. I like go through phases.

Sometimes I want it, sometimes I don't. Although last night I fell asleep with the TV on because sometimes I like, but sometimes I have nothing.

Sometimes on TV, sometimes I lose my phone. Last night I fell asleep with the TV on at four thirty in the morning.

I like four thirty. Yeah.

No, no, no not to. No it just, just like had to go to the bathroom. OK, I got to go and and I just heard it was so scary.

It was just like on TV because sometimes at that time of night the infomercials come on or I don't know why but it was just like this woman singing The Star-Spangled Banner. And if you can just imagine, like waking up at four thirty in the morning and you just hear someone singing The Star-Spangled Banner and you're like, Where am I?

Yeah, for sure. There's no good TV out of four thirty in the morning. It's going to be all infomercials and awful stuff.

Exactly. Exactly. So awesome. So guys, a lot of a lot of stuff. I mean, these words are so common.

I mean, Lindsay, we've conversation questions. We have a role play. Do we have time for a little bit about what do we have? So let's do how about we jump to the role play and maybe we'll swing back to the questions.

We can chat. Let's do the replay. Yeah. All right. You know, play. So, Lindsay, we are studying for a test and it's very late at night and we're at your house.

OK, here we go. So did you hear that noise? No, I only hear the sound of your dishwasher.

Oh, OK. I got nervous. Oh, man. I'm so nervous about this test. So many people have said it's super hard.

Don't listen to all that noise. It'll be fine.

I know. Also, the classroom is always so loud during tests, I can't concentrate without background noise.

Oh, you know what? If it's too noisy, should we make noise about it and tell the teacher to make sure it's quiet? Yeah, maybe.

Let's try. OK. Oh, that sounds awful, you know. Yeah. So guys, we didn't use all of them here. I would have been a little crazy, but we used we used a bunch. We used a bunch of them.

So, yes. Let's talk about it. So you first you said did you hear that noise? Right. So this is like an interruption. It's kind of it sounds like you're scared.

Yeah. And again, this is a place where we could probably interchange. Right, Michelle? Like, did you hear that sound? You hear that noise. But noise works, right? Noise works.

Yeah. Yeah, it works. And then what did I say? So, no, I only hear the sound of your dishwasher. Now that one only works for sound. Right. So yeah.

And I wanted to use dishwasher again here because I used it before and I talked about a noise coming from my dishwasher. So the difference is like that noise was kind of a negative, like an oh what's that noise situation? Whereas the sound of the dishwasher, you know, if you have the dishwasher on, if it's if things are going well, there's still a there's still background noise that goes along with that.

Right. So you would you could use sound there.

Yeah. And the other important distinction here is grammatical, Michel. Right. So we don't say technically you cannot say. I only hear the noise of your dishwasher.

That sounds wrong to me. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So when you're saying the blank of something you want to say sound guys.

OK, that's that's a good point. Yeah, that's a good point. And then you said you're nervous because other people have been talking how hard this test is. And I said, don't listen to all that noise. Right.

Yeah. And by that you're saying that friction or that distraction. Right? That's yeah.

Like don't listen everybody else. Right. It's, you know, pay attention. Focus on yourself. Right, exactly.

And then you say I said I can't concentrate with that background noise. And that's a chunk. Right, Michel? Background noise is not background sound. It's background noise, guys. Oh, right. Right.

So you want to make sure that's how you use it. Yeah. And then I say if it's too noisy, right.

We're not going to say if it's to sound that's as it should we make noise.

Right. So basically, you know, should we another talk to the teacher. Right. Exactly. Make noise.

Yeah. And actually figuratively. Right. You're saying this figuratively. Should we make some noise. Hey, let's make some noise. Let's let's speak up. Let's complain.

Right. Let's make a change. OK, so we're using this both literally and figuratively in this role play. Michel say. Exactly. Exactly.

I love it. I love it. I love it. So. OK, Lindsay. All right. I'll ask you one question. OK, go for it as me. And do you ever get creeped out by House noises?

Oh, White House noise I. I was hoping you'd ask me something like that house noise, for sure, haunted houses, I believe in ghosts, so. Yes. Do you really? I kind of do. Yeah. You don't like. I don't know. I just you know, I just watched the movie Ghost for the first time and the same as Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Almost famous Michelle Ghost.

Yeah. So good movie. I recommend it, but I do kind of I do get freaked out by house noises. When I was a kid, we had a babysitter and she was only she was too young to babysit for us and she heard all these noises. So she called the police. So the police had to come and check our attic and check all the way around the outside of our house. My parents were so upset.

Oh, my gosh, I'm terrible.

Yeah. I mean, I don't know if I believe in ghosts or not. I just didn't know that you did. So I want to hear more. Maybe I should do more about that another time.

But no, I got I get creeped out. I mean, it's always there's always these creeks and, you know, like, I don't really have it as much in an apartment then I would like in a house.

I think like we don't have too many house noises, but but I don't like I don't like when I hear that stuff, you know, it freaks me out, too, just because I just I've heard so many ghost stories.

Maybe we'll do this in another episode. It's so hard to imagine that they're all just made up and people telling stories. Some of them are. But I don't know. I kind of think there's a supernatural thing going on out there. I don't know.

Yeah, I'd like to I'd like to believe that even though it's kind of scary, I'd still like to believe that as long as they're benevolent ghosts.

Right, exactly. So, Michelle, what's the takeaway for today for our listeners as.

OK, so guys, wow, we went over the distinctions between the words noise and sound. Right. And we talked about the differences, the nuances. Right.

And we gave you a ton of different chunks or idioms, tons of different things. A role play was a very busy it was a very noisy episode, noisy and productive guys.

Yeah. These are the nuances you need to know to be fluent in English. Right. So go back, study the episode again and then try out the two different try out these differences, right, Michel?

Yes. And Lindsay, did we have a quiz we wanted to listen to?

This would be a great question for our quiz. Wow. High level question, right, guys? But we have a simple fluency quiz that you can take if you go to all your English dot com forward sgu you izi answer seven questions and get your fluency score. OK, so cool, so easy. So go there right now guys.

OK. All right. Lindsay, this was fun. Have a good one. Michelle, take care. Talk to you soon. Bye bye.

Thanks for listening to all ears English, would you like to know your English level, take our two minute quiz. Go to all ears, English dot com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit. Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.