Oían (en. They heard)

/oi̯an/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishSpanish

verb

Indicates that a group of people listened to or perceived a sound in the past.

In those days, we heard music from everywhere.

En aquellos días, nosotros oían música de todas partes.

It is used to express the act of hearing in a narrative context.

While we were walking, they heard laughter in the distance.

Mientras caminábamos, oían risas a lo lejos.

It may denote that a group of people were paying attention to what was being said.

When the speaker presented, everyone listened attentively.

Cuando se presentó el orador, todos oían con atención.

From the Latin 'audīre', related to the perception of sound.

Listen carefully!

An expression indicating that attention should be paid to what is about to be said.

¡Oíganlo bien!

What I heard, I believed.

It means that something that was heard was accepted as true.

Lo que oí, lo creí.

I heard that...

Used to introduce information that has been heard from another person.

Oí que...

hear

To perceive sounds through the sense of hearing.

oír

listen

To pay attention to what is heard.

escuchar

noise

Undesired sound that is perceived.

ruido

Not hearing something due to distractions.

I was so distracted in the conversation that I didn't hear what they were saying.

Estaba tan distraído en la conversación que no oían lo que decían.

To be present in a conversation or to sound out in a discussion.

They always talked about that topic at work.

Ese tema siempre oían en el trabajo.