A high quality storybook illustration showing two characters. One character is speaking, and colorful, curved sound waves are visibly traveling directly from their mouth to the large, attentive ear of the second character, who is clearly listening.

oírte

oh-EER-teh

Verb (Infinitive + Pronoun)A1irregular ir

to hear you?informal singular 'you',to listen to you?informal singular 'you'

Also:to be able to hear you?often implying technical ability or volume

Quick Reference

infinitiveoír

gerundoyendo

past Participleoído

📝 In Action

Necesito un micrófono nuevo para oírte mejor.

I need a new microphone in order to hear you better.

¿Puedes repetirlo? No consigo oírte bien.

Can you repeat that? I can't manage to hear you well.

Quiero oírte contar esa historia otra vez.

I want to hear you tell that story again.

Word Connections

Synonyms

escucharte (to listen to you (more active))

Common Collocations

poder oírte – to be able to hear you
querer oírte – to want to hear you

💡 Grammar Points

Pronoun Attachment (Infinitive)

The word 'oírte' is a single unit combining the base verb 'oír' and the pronoun 'te' (meaning 'you,' informal). This combination is standard when the verb is in its infinitive form (the base form).

The Accent Mark (Tílde)

When you attach a pronoun to the end of the infinitive, you must sometimes add an accent mark (tílde) to the original stressed vowel to keep the pronunciation correct. The stress in 'oír' is on the 'í', so when 'te' is added, the accent mark must stay on the 'í' to become 'oírte'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Forgetting the 'te' placement rule

Mistake: "Yo te puedo oírte."

Correction: Yo te puedo oír. (OR) Yo puedo oírte. You must choose to put the pronoun 'te' either before the conjugated verb (puedo) OR attached to the infinitive (oír).

⭐ Usage Tips

Choosing Placement

In Spanish, when you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like 'Quiero oírte'), you have two choices for where the pronoun goes: attached to the end of the infinitive ('oírte') or before the conjugated verb ('Te quiero oír'). Both are correct!

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: oírte

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'oírte'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

oír(to hear) - verb

oído(ear, hearing) - noun

oyente(listener) - noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does 'oírte' have an accent mark on the 'i'?

The accent mark is needed to maintain the correct stress. In the base verb 'oír', the stress is on the 'í'. When you add the short pronoun 'te', the stress naturally wants to shift, but the accent mark forces it to remain on the 'í', ensuring you pronounce it 'oh-EER-teh' and not 'oh-ir-TEH'.

What is the difference between 'oír' and 'escuchar'?

'Oír' means 'to hear' and refers to the passive physical ability to perceive sound. 'Escuchar' means 'to listen' and implies actively paying attention to the sound. If you are struggling with a bad connection, you might say 'No puedo oírte' (I can't physically hear you).