oía

Oía is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb oír, meaning “to hear.” In the imperfect tense, oía describes a past action or state of hearing that was ongoing, habitual, or background in nature. The principal conjugations in this tense are: yo oía, tú oías, él/ella/usted oía, nosotros oíamos, vosotros oíais, ellos oían.

Usage of oía centers on past circumstances in which hearing occurred over a period of time or as part of setting a scene. It contrasts with oí, the preterite form, which refers to a completed or single act of hearing. Examples: Cuando era niño, oía el río desde la ventana. Anoche oía pasos acercándose desde la escalera.

The verb oír itself is irregular in some tenses and phonologically distinct from other -ir verbs, but in the imperfect it uses regular -ía endings after the oír stem. Etymologically, oír comes from Latin audire, and its related forms appear in many Romance languages. In modern Spanish, oír and its imperfect oía are commonly used to convey background perception, audio descriptions, or repeated auditory events in the past, often in narrative prose or dialogue.