Ouvir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ouvir — to hear — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a irregular -ir verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to hear and to listen, and one verb covers both senses in Portuguese, where English splits them. Its present is irregular — ouço, ouves, ouve, ouvimos, ouvis, ouvem — while the rest of the conjugation is regular. On this page you will find ouvir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the ouvir conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ouvir pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with ouvir

In the present tense

  • “Eu ouço música todos os dias.” — “I hear music”
  • “Tu ouves música todos os dias.” — “You hear music”
  • “Ele ouve música todos os dias.” — “He hears music”
  • “Nós ouvimos música todos os dias.” — “We hear music”
  • “Vós ouvis música todos os dias.” — “You hear music”
  • “Eles ouvem música todos os dias.” — “They hear music”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu ouvi música ontem.” — “I heard music”
  • “Tu ouviste música ontem.” — “You heard music”
  • “Ele ouviu música ontem.” — “He heard music”
  • “Nós ouvimos música ontem.” — “We heard music”
  • “Vós ouvistes música ontem.” — “You heard music”
  • “Eles ouviram música ontem.” — “They heard music”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu ouvia música antigamente.” — “I used to hear music”
  • “Tu ouvirás música amanhã.” — “You will hear music”
  • “Ele ouviria música um dia.” — “He would hear music”
  • “É importante que nós ouçamos música.” — “It is important that we hear music”
  • “Ouve música!” — “Hear music!”

How ouvir is used

The first thing to know about ouvir is its core meaning: to hear. It means to hear and to listen, and one verb covers both senses in Portuguese, where English splits them. Its present is irregular — ouço, ouves, ouve, ouvimos, ouvis, ouvem — while the rest of the conjugation is regular. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company ouvir keeps. The present eu form is ouço, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho ouvido, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what ouvir does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need ouço, never ouvir. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho ouvido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ouvido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ouvir in context

Eu ouço música todos os dias. Tu ouves música todos os dias. Ele ouve música todos os dias. Nós ouvimos música todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ouvir is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ouço, ouves, ouve, ouvimos — while the meaning stays the same: to hear. Eu ouvi música ontem. Tu ouviste música ontem. Ele ouviu música ontem. Nós ouvimos música ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ouvir appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to hear — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu ouvir música.”

✓ Right: “Eu ouço música todos os dias.”

The infinitive ouvir never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form ouço.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu ouves música.”

✓ Right: “Eu ouço música todos os dias.”

ouves is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is ouço — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu ouço música ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu ouvi música ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito ouvi here, not the present ouço.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou ouvido música.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho ouvido música esta semana.”

ouvir takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho ouvido — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on ouvir across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of ouvir in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) ouço
    • B) ouves
    • C) ouve
    • D) ouvimos

  2. What is the eu form of ouvir in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens ouvido
    • B) tem ouvido
    • C) tenho ouvido
    • D) temos ouvido

  3. What is the ele/ela form of ouvir in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) ouvias
    • B) ouvíamos
    • C) ouvíeis
    • D) ouvia

  4. What is the nós form of ouvir in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) ouviremos
    • B) ouvirei
    • C) ouvirás
    • D) ouvirá

  5. What is the tu form of ouvir in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) ouviria
    • B) ouvirias
    • C) ouviríamos
    • D) ouviríeis

  6. What is the eu form of ouvir in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) ouviras
    • B) ouvíramos
    • C) ouvira
    • D) ouvíreis

  7. What is the nós form of ouvir in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) ouça
    • B) ouças
    • C) ouçais
    • D) ouçamos

  8. What is the gerund of ouvir?

    • A) ouvindo
    • B) ouvido
    • C) ouvir
    • D) ouço

  9. What is the past participle of ouvir?

    • A) ouvindo
    • B) ouvido
    • C) ouvir
    • D) ouço

  10. What does ouvir mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to hear
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) ouves — the correct form is ouves. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho ouvido — the correct form is tenho ouvido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ouvia — the correct form is ouvia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ouviremos — the correct form is ouviremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ouvirias — the correct form is ouvirias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ouvira — the correct form is ouvira. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ouçamos — the correct form is ouçamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ouvindo — the correct form is ouvindo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ouvido — the correct form is ouvido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to hear — the correct form is to hear. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ouvir mean in English?

ouvir means “to hear”. You use it whenever you talk about to hear in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is ouvir regular or irregular?

ouvir is irregular. ouvir is irregular in presente, presente do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of ouvir?

The gerund is ouvindo and the past participle is ouvido. The perfect tenses use ter + ouvido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ouvir?

On the ouvir conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The ouvir pretérito perfeito tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ouvir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages