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What is the main difference between these words, and can they be used interchangeably when talking about listening to music?

Centaurus
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CBredlow
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2 Answers2

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Generally speaking, you can associate "ouvir" with "hear" and "escutar" with "listen". Then again, there are idiomatic uses, and these two verbs can be interchangeable in specific contexts.

O significado de ouvir remete ao sentido da audição, é aquilo que o ouvido capta. Já o verbo escutar corresponde ao ato de ouvir com atenção. Ou seja, escutar é entender o que está sendo captado pela audição, mas além disso compreender e processar a informação internamente. Portanto, a diferença entre ouvir e escutar é o que acontece após o indivíduo receber o som. Ele está ouvindo quando há pouca interação, e escutando quando está prestando atenção ao que é emitido. A popular expressão "entrou por um ouvido e saiu pelo outro" ilustra o ato de ouvir, quando a informação parece não ser capturada pelo receptor do som. Significados

  • You can see that to really listen (escutar) to something, one has to hear (ouvir) it first.

OUVIR significa ter recebido a informação, ou seja, perceber a existência de um som. De maneira geral, não temos controle sobre o OUVIR (somente se fecharmos nossos ouvidos ou sairmos de algum lugar).Chamamos isso de audibilidade. Com o uso de aparelhos auditivos, devolvemos esta audibilidade aos usuários.

ESCUTAR significa ter atenção ao som e atribuir à ele um significado. Temos total controle sobre o ESCUTAR. Para compreender o som que chega, não basta só detectá-lo, temos que prestar atenção e interpretá-lo.

However, we don't always follow these rules - sometimes because we make mistakes and other times because there are some idiomatic usages. Examples:

  • Acabei de ouvir um ruido vindo da cozinha. ("escutar" may be wrong, but some people use it)
  • Eu nunca ouvi essa palavra antes. ("escutei" may be used by some people)
  • Você conseguiu ouvir alguma coisa? ("escutar" may be used by some people)
  • Eu ouvi atentamente tudo o que ele dizia. ("escutar" sounds awkward)
  • Eu ouvi o advogado atentamente. ("escutar" simply doesn't fit.)
  • O diretor passou a manhã ouvindo os alunos. ("escutar" doesn't fit)
  • Você já ouviu essa música antes? (colloquially, "escutou" is acceptable)
  • Ouça o que eu tenho para lhe dizer. ("escuta" can also be heard)
  • Se você tivesse me ouvido..." (no sentido de "dar ouvidos", "escutado" sounds awkward)
Centaurus
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  • I seems to me that in the context of "listening to music" ouvir and escutar are essentially interchangeable, at least in Brazil. Is one more idiomatic than the other? – Jason Haslam Feb 23 '17 at 21:48
  • @JasonHaslam Nope, we say "gosto de ouvir música", "ficar ouvindo música", "ouvir as notícias", "ficar ouvindo o rádio enquanto trabalho", but we never say "escutar música", "escutar o rádio", "escutar as notícias". – Centaurus Feb 23 '17 at 22:05
  • I often get surprised at how different our experiences are, even though we live in the same city. I have heard all of those examples with "escutar" already, they're almost as common as "ouvir". – Ramon Melo Feb 23 '17 at 23:59
  • @RamonMelo So have I, which doesn't mean they are all correct. The only ones I wouldn't accept are "o diretor passou a manhã escutando os alunos", "ele escutou o advogado atentamente" and "se você tivesse me escutado". Some people use "escutar" in these examples but I don't think it's acceptable in writing. – Centaurus Feb 24 '17 at 00:07
  • @RamonMelo Wrong uses of "ouvir" and "escutar" can easily go unnoticed, unlike "seje" and "pra mim ver" which we hear all the time. – Centaurus Feb 24 '17 at 00:12
  • I'm on the fence, I don't have an opinion on this. I agree with the current trend among grammarians and linguists that the everyday use validates the norm, not the opposite. You do have the sources, however. I also don't think OP is looking for something other than information about colloquial usage, but it is up to him/her to decide. It is a difficult question. – Ramon Melo Feb 24 '17 at 00:16
  • @RamonMelo I would compare it to the use of "falar" and "dizer" which are often interchangeable. – Centaurus Feb 24 '17 at 00:27
  • @RamonMelo You agree with descriptvists and so do I, though I used to be a prescriptivist once. I find it difficult to establish where you should place the line between the acceptable and the unacceptable in the spoken language, though. You see, a considerable number of Brazilians say "pra mim + verb" and I find it unacceptable. In this case I wouldn't say that everyday use validades usage. – Centaurus Feb 24 '17 at 16:10
  • See, that's a trend, not a rule. In that case, "para mim + verb" is a valid construction whenever "mim" is not the subject of the action: **para mim, estudar** à noite é muito desgastante, é muito desgastante **para mim estudar** à noite. The norm is protecting an everyday use that enhances communication, even against another common use. In this thread, I find it hard to believe that communication would be degraded if "escutar" e "ouvir" suddenly became synonyms, in the current year. – Ramon Melo Feb 24 '17 at 16:21
  • @RamonMelo I don't mean that. What I mean is "dá isso pra mim ver" or "ela disse pra mim chegar cedo". I dare say 60% of all cariocas say that. Still, I find it unacceptable. – Centaurus Feb 24 '17 at 16:59
  • Yes, I know what you mean. That's the use the norm is fighting against, as a way to protect valid constructions. Imagine this sentence: dá para mim ver. Does it mean "é possível para mim ver"? Or does it mean "entregue-me para que eu veja"? I agree with the norm, against a common use, because it makes sense, because it benefits communication. I don't see how making "ouvir" and "escutar" interchangeable would make communication poorer. – Ramon Melo Feb 24 '17 at 17:06
  • Quite right we don't always follow those rules. Nor should we: those websites are horribly simplistic. All your examples use the verb ouvir in one or another of its standard meanings (I'm not sure you meant them to illustrate 'rule breaking'?) But what's wrong with "escutando os alunos" or "escutar [...] atentamente"? – Jacinto Feb 25 '17 at 21:10
  • @Jacinto I would rather say "O diretor ouviu os alunos" (their complaints, whatever) and "O diretor escutou todas as reivindicações dos alunos". It simply doesn't sound ok to my ears to "escutar alguem". Then again, it's always ok "escutar o que alguém tem a dizer, escutar alguma coisa". "Ouvir" also has the meaning of accepting advice, but people also use both verbs interchangeably. The examples I posted are meant to show that sometimes "escutar" and "ouvir" are interchangeable. – Centaurus Feb 25 '17 at 22:42
  • @Jacinto I'm aware that most descriptivists would say that "ouvir" and "escutar" are always interchangeable and that's it. – Centaurus Feb 25 '17 at 22:42
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What I usually see is people using "escutar" when they want the other person to pay attention.

"Escuta essa música!" -> "Listen/pay attention to that song!" (I think the song is awesome and you should really listen to it)

"Ei, me escuta!" -> "Hey, listen/pay attention to me!" (I'm trying to say something important to you, but you're not paying attention)

But when I'm just listening music with my earphones, you can use both (I don't know the statistics, but I guess that "ouvir" is more common than "escutar", although some people use both)