I saw this expression "learning from ear" on DW, similar to the better know expression "playing by ear". I want to know what the equivalent for this is in German.
Both expressions are also used in other languages, e.g. in Spanish: "aprendiendo de oído", French: ""apprendre à l'oreille"", etc...
The German term for learning by ear is nach Gehör lernen, which literally translates to "learning by listening", and is formed just as the spanish term apprendiendo de oído by using a nominalized form of the verb. However, while in the Spanish term the participle is used, German uses a different way of forming a noun in this particular case: Gehör is also "the ability to hear". The term is in the phrase sich Gehör verschaffen "to make oneself heard", literally "to gain hearing for oneself".
Similarly, nach Gehör spielen is the term for playing by ear.
