ouïr
See also: ouir
French
Etymology
From Middle French ouyr, ouïr, from Old French oïr, from Latin audiō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-is-d-, a compound of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewis (“clearly, manifestly”) (from the root *h₂ew- (“to see, perceive”)) and *dʰh₁-ye/o- (“to render”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /wiʁ/, /u.iʁ/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -wiʁ
Verb
ouïr
- (dated) to hear
- Synonym: entendre
- (dated) to listen
- Synonym: écouter
Conjugation
The forms beginning with oi-, oy-, or orr- are archaic.
Conjugation of ouïr (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | ouïr | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | ouïssant or oyant /wi.sɑ̃/ or /ɔ.jɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | ouï /wi/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | ouïs or ois /wi/ or /wa/ | ouïs or ois /wi/ or /wa/ | ouït or oit /wi/ or /wa/ | ouïssons or oyons /wi.sɔ̃/ or /ɔ.jɔ̃/ | ouïssez or oyez /wi.se/ or /ɔ.je/ | ouïssent or oient /wis/ or /wa/ |
| imperfect | ouïssais or oyais /wi.sɛ/ or /ɔ.jɛ/ | ouïssais or oyais /wi.sɛ/ or /ɔ.jɛ/ | ouïssait or oyait /wi.sɛ/ or /ɔ.jɛ/ | ouïssions or oyions /wi.sjɔ̃/ or /ɔj.jɔ̃/ | ouïssiez or oyiez /wi.sje/ or /ɔj.je/ | ouïssaient or oyaient /wi.sɛ/ or /ɔ.jɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | ouïs /wi/ | ouïs /wi/ | ouït /wi/ | ouïmes /wim/ | ouïtes /wit/ | ouïrent /wiʁ/ | |
| future | ouïrai or oirai or orrai /wi.ʁe/ or /wa.ʁe/ or /ɔ.ʁe/ | ouïras or oiras or orras /wi.ʁa/ or /wa.ʁa/ or /ɔ.ʁa/ | ouïra or oira or orra /wi.ʁa/ or /wa.ʁa/ or /ɔ.ʁa/ | ouïrons or oirons or orrons /wi.ʁɔ̃/ or /wa.ʁɔ̃/ or /ɔ.ʁɔ̃/ | ouïrez or oirez or orrez /wi.ʁe/ or /wa.ʁe/ or /ɔ.ʁe/ | ouïront or oiront or orront /wi.ʁɔ̃/ or /wa.ʁɔ̃/ or /ɔ.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | ouïrais or oirais or orrais /wi.ʁɛ/ or /wa.ʁɛ/ or /ɔ.ʁɛ/ | ouïrais or oirais or orrais /wi.ʁɛ/ or /wa.ʁɛ/ or /ɔ.ʁɛ/ | ouïrait or oirait or orrait /wi.ʁɛ/ or /wa.ʁɛ/ or /ɔ.ʁɛ/ | ouïrions or oirions or orrions /wi.ʁjɔ̃/ or /wa.ʁjɔ̃/ or /ɔ.ʁjɔ̃/ | ouïriez or oiriez or orriez /wi.ʁje/ or /wa.ʁje/ or /ɔ.ʁje/ | ouïraient or oiraient or orraient /wi.ʁɛ/ or /wa.ʁɛ/ or /ɔ.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | ouïsse or oie /wis/ or /wa/ | ouïsses or oies /wis/ or /wa/ | ouïsse or oie /wis/ or /wa/ | ouïssions or oyions /wi.sjɔ̃/ or /ɔj.jɔ̃/ | ouïssiez or oyiez /wi.sje/ or /ɔj.je/ | ouïssent or oient /wis/ or /wa/ |
| imperfect2 | ouïsse /wis/ | ouïsses /wis/ | ouït /wi/ | ouïssions /wi.sjɔ̃/ | ouïssiez /wi.sje/ | ouïssent /wis/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | ouïs or ois /wi/ or /wa/ | — | ouïssons or oyons /wi.sɔ̃/ or /ɔ.jɔ̃/ | ouïssez or oyez /wi.se/ or /ɔ.je/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Related terms
- ouï-dire
- ouïe
- inouï
Further reading
- “ouïr”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.