歌詞を聞き間違えるのはなぜ？｜中級英語で読む“空耳”の心理

Have you ever sung a line from a song—and later learned the words were different? This is very common. Misheard lyrics even have a name: “mondegreens.”

One reason is that songs stretch sounds. A singer may hold a vowel, drop a consonant, or connect words smoothly. When the sounds blur, the brain tries to fill the gaps. It chooses the closest pattern it can recognize.

Another reason is expectation. If you already know the topic of the song, you guess what the next word should be. Sometimes your guess feels so natural that you stop listening carefully. Your brain prefers a clear meaning, even if it is not the correct one.

The environment also matters. If you listen in a noisy place, you catch only parts of the sound. You may also focus more on the melody than on the words. In that moment, your brain builds a sentence from whatever pieces it has.

Mishearing lyrics is not a sign of low ability. It is a normal feature of human listening. In fact, it shows how active the brain is: it does not only receive sound—it interprets it.