Olhou

Olhou is a Portuguese verb form, serving as the third-person singular preterite (simple past) of the verb olhar, which means “to look.” It denotes that someone looked at or toward something in the past, without specifying the subject pronoun.

Etymology and form: The verb olhar is built from the noun olho, meaning “eye,” and developed into a verb sense related to directing the gaze. Its preterite form, olhou, is the standard third-person singular in the pretérito perfeito. The full conjugation in the pretérito perfeito is: eu olhei, tu olhaste, ele/elaolhou, nós olhamos, vós olhastes, eles/elas olharam. In usage, olhou commonly appears with subject pronouns such as ele, ela, or você (the latter aligning with the third-person form in many dialects).

Usage and meaning: Olhar, and by extension olhou, is used to describe past acts of looking, glancing, or considering. It often appears with prepositions to indicate direction or target, such as olhar para o mar (to look at the sea) or olhar através da janela (to look through the window). In narrative writing, olhou helps convey completed perception or attention in a past scene. Regional variation affects pronoun use, but the form olhou remains widely understood across Brazilian and European Portuguese.

Examples: Ele olhou pela janela. Ela olhou para o horizonte. Você olhou o relatório ontem.

See also: olhar, olho, ver.