The Spanish verbs oír (to hear) and escuchar (to listen to) are the most common ways to talk about your sense of hearing. But there are slight differences you need to know about these two verbs.
You’ll learn how to avoid that awkward silence on a video call with colleagues or on a phone call to the restaurant as you make a reservation by knowing how to ask “can you hear me?” in Spanish. Plus, there are a few common phrases and slang words that will help you talk more fluently about what you hear in Spanish.
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Oír
Oír is the most direct translation of “to hear.” It belongs to a group of common but very irregular Spanish verbs. Don’t let the vowels, spelling changes, and accent marks intimidate you. The forms of oír appear uncommon, but as you familiarize yourself with them poco a poco (little by little), they’ll come more naturally.
oír (to hear) present tense
| yo oigo | I hear | nosotros oímos | we hear |
| tú oyes | you hear (informal) | vosotros oís | you hear (informal, plural used in Spain) |
| él/ella/usted oye | he/she hearsyou hear (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes oyen | they hearyou hear (formal plural) |
Some examples of the verb oír in context will help you become familiar with how the verb is used.
- ¿Puedes oír la televisión? = Can you hear the television?
- Hay mucho ruido. No la oigo bien. = There’s a lot of noise. I don’t hear it well.
- Ella oye algo. = She hears something.
- Todos los veranos oímos los fuegos artificiales. = Every summer we hear the fireworks.
Use the verb oír on a call
Whether you’re talking por teléfono (by phone) or on a videollamada (video call), it’s a common occurrence that one or both of you will have to ask if you can hear each other well, with expressions like “can you hear me?” in Spanish.
In a formal setting, where you’d use usted vs. tú, try these examples:
- ¿Me puede oír? = Can you hear me?
- No oigo bien. = I can’t hear well.
- Sí, lo puedo oír ahora. = Yes, I can hear you now.
Notice that the infinitive oír follows any conjugated verb, such as poder (to be able to), which is often translated as “can.” You might need to tell a friend “I can’t hear you” in Spanish, using informal expressions like these:
- ¿Me oyes? = Do you hear me?
- No te oigo. = I don’t hear you.
Escuchar
While related to oír (to hear), escuchar has a meaning that more closely translates to “to listen to,” implying that the person is actively listening or trying to hear, but it can also be used as “to hear” in Latin America.
When you use escuchar to mean “to listen to,” it does not require the preposition “to” in Spanish. Instead, it is followed directly by a noun.
- Me gusta escuchar música. = I like to listen to music.
- Es importante escuchar al profesor. = It’s important to listen to the teacher.
It is, however, fairly common to use escuchar as a synonym for oír (to hear) in some cases. The context will determine the English translation that sounds most natural.
- Disculpe. No lo escucho. Hay mucho ruido. = Excuse me. I can’t hear you. There’s a lot of noise.
- ¿Escuchaste lo que le pasó a Sara? Se fracturó la pierna mientras estaba esquiando. = Did you hear what happened to Sara? She fractured her leg while she was skiing.
Escuchar conjugation is fairly simple as it follows the pattern of regular -AR verbs in Spanish.
escuchar (to listen to/to hear) present tense
| yo escucho | I listen to | nosotros escuchamos | we listen to |
| tú escuchas | you listen to (informal) | vosotros escucháis | you listen to (informal, plural used in Spain) |
| él/ella/usted escucha | he/she listens to you listen to (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes escuchan | they listen to you listen to (formal plural) |
‘Hear’ in Spanish slang
You might encounter the word ¡oye! (hear) in Spanish slang or informal speech. Its meaning would be closest to the attention-grabbing “Hey!” in American English, or “Oi!” in British English.
- ¡Oye! ¡No dejes tu móvil! = Hey! Don’t leave your cell phone behind.
- ¡Oye! ¿Qué haces? = Hey! What are you doing?
It can serve as a bit of an aggressive reprimand or it can be casual and friendly, depending on the context and the tone. In some cultures, it’s more common to say ¡oiga! as a slightly more formal Spanish command.
Words and expressions related to ‘hear’ in Spanish
Spanish isn’t a word-for-word translation of English. Learn these expressions and Spanish words related to hearing and ears to speak like a native.
| Spanish | English |
| como oír llover | nonchalantly/like water off a duck’s back (literally “like hearing rain”) |
| con discapacidad auditiva/duro de oído | hard-of-hearing |
| dar oídos a/prestar oídos a | to pay attention to/to heed |
| decir al oído | to say something confidentially/whisper in someone’s ear |
| enterarse de | to hear news/to become aware of a fact |
| hacerse oír | to attract attention/make yourself heard |
| improvisar/ver qué pasa | to play it by ear |
| el oído | the sense of hearing |
| el oído/los oídos | the inner ear(s) (part of the ear responsible for hearing) |
| tal como lo oyes | just as you heard it |
| tener noticias de | to hear from someone |
| tocar de oído | to play (an instrument) by ear |
Understand what you hear in Spanish with Rosetta Stone
Cuanto más oyes (the more you hear) y escuchas (and listen to) Spanish, the better you’re able to comprehend it. Since your time is valuable, you’ll want to be sure that the Spanish you hear is easy to understand and sounds as close to natural and authentic Spanish as possible. Exposure to real-life Spanish will clarify the difference between similar words like oír vs. escuchar or saber vs. conocer (to know).
A big part of how Rosetta Stone works is by providing you with these quality examples within its many tools, like the all-in-one app, the phrasebook, and the opportunity to take live lessons.
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