Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "ouvir" in Portuguese (Portugal)?

Q: How do you pronounce ouvir in Portuguese (Portugal)?

ouvir is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [oˈviɾ]. It means “to listen.” Sounds like "oh-VEER" — the ou spelling is just a plain "oh" sound, not a diphthong, with stress on the second syllable.

Sounds like "oh-VEER" — the ou spelling is just a plain "oh" sound, not a diphthong, with stress on the second syllable.

ouvir [oˈviɾ]

Stress falls on -vir; the ou spelling represents a single, simple "oh" vowel in standard EP, not a glide or diphthong as the two letters might suggest.

Listen: ouvir

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Sound it out

ou A single, plain "oh" vowel — despite being spelled with two letters, it doesn't glide the way English "ou" in "loud" does.

v Voiced "v" as in English "van".

ir Stressed, close "ee" sound ending in a light tapped r.

Hear it in a sentence

Gosto de ouvir música.

I like listening to music.

Listen: Gosto de ouvir música.

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"Gosto de ouvir música" ("I like listening to music") is another gostar de + infinitive construction, and again música takes no article since it refers to music in general. Note that ouvir (to hear/listen, a passive or general perception) differs from escutar (to actively listen, pay attention), a distinction that doesn't map neatly onto English "to listen". This is a very common way to describe a hobby.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often pronounce ou as a diphthong similar to the ou in English "out", but in standard Lisbon EP it's simply a clean, monophthong "oh" sound. It's also easy to mix up ouvir with ver (to see) in fast speech contexts if you're not listening for the initial vowel and consonant carefully, since both are common, short perception verbs.