聞こえる・きこえる

Verb (Group 2) (Basic ㊦ 188)

Something is passively and spontaneously audiable.

Equivalent: Audible; (can) hear; it sounds

私（に）は鶯の声がよく聞こえる・聞こえます。: To me the cries of a nightingale are clearly audible. / I can clearly hear the cries of a nightingale.
その音は小さ過ぎて聞こえない。: That sound is too weak and is not audible.
大山さんの声は大きいので隣の部屋の人にもよく聞こえる。: Mr. Oyama's voice is so loud that people in the neighbouring rooms can hear him.
私にはお寺の鐘の音が聞こえたが、弟には聞こえなかった。: I could hear the sound of the temple bell, but my younger brother couldn't.
テーラーさんの作った文は変に聞こえる。: The sentences which Mr. Taylor made sound strange.

Notes

【Related Expression】

聞こえる is different from the regular potential form of 聞く 'hear' (i.e., 聞ける) in that the former indicates a passive, auditory potentiality, whereas the latter indicates that the speaker (or the subject of sentence) can hear sound not passively but actively. Thus,

[1]

僕は耳が聞こえない/*聞けない。
I am deaf.

[2]

こんなに後ろに座るとよく聞こえない/*聞けないよ。
If we sit this far back, we won't be able to hear well.

[3]

いいステレオを買ったからレコ一ドが聞ける/*聞こえる。
I bought a good stereo set, so I can listen to records.

[4]

音楽がうるさくて話が聞こえない/聞けない。
The music is so loud that the conversation is inaudible/we cannot hear the conversation.

Note that in [4] both 聞ける and 聞こえる are possible, depending on the speaker's perception of the situation; if he perceives the situation to be inalterable, he uses 聞こえる; if not, he uses 聞ける.