ouço

Ouço is the first person singular present indicative form of the Portuguese verb ouvir, meaning "I hear" or "I listen." It denotes perceiving sound in the present and is commonly used to indicate listening as an ongoing act or ability. In many contexts, ouço also expresses attention to what is heard, as in listening to music, a conversation, or ambient sounds.

Etymology and relation to other forms: ouvir comes from Latin audīre. The related noun ouvido means ear, and the noun audição or audição (in some varieties) refers to hearing or the sense of hearing. A closely related verb escutar emphasizes listening with deliberate attention, whereas ouvir covers perceiving sound more generally.

Conjugation and usage notes: The present indicative forms are: eu ouço, tu ouves, ele/ela ouve, nós ouvimos, vós ouvis, eles/elas ouvem. In Brazilian Portuguese, it is common to use você ouve instead of tu ouves; in many parts of Portugal, tu ouves remains standard. Examples: "Eu ouço música todas as manhãs." "Ela ouve o barulho da chuva." The phrase "ouvir dizer" means to have heard, or to have heard say; as in "ouvi dizer que haverá uma reunião." The term can also appear in idioms and expressions related to listening and attention.

See also: ouvido (ear; organ of hearing), audição (hearing), audível (audible). Distinções with escutar are often noted in discussions of listening versus hearing in Portuguese.