Fala Gringo › Verbs › escutar
escutar — to listen (actively)
Full conjugation of escutar in the tenses that matter for everyday speech, with pronunciation hints in the Rio (carioca) accent and example sentences the way Brazilians actually talk — not textbook European Portuguese.
How to use escutar in Brazilian Portuguese
Escutar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to listen (actively). It is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings there are no surprises.
Three tenses do almost all the work in conversation. The presente covers the present and the near future: eu escuto — I listen (actively). The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu escutei — I listened (actively). The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu escutava — I used to listen (actively) / was listening.
Said the Rio way, escuto sounds like ehsh-KOO-too. The nós form escutamos ends in the carioca “sh”, ehsh-koo-TAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | escutoI listen (actively) | ehsh-KOO-too | Eu escuto música no ônibus. |
| você / ele / ela | escutayou listen (actively) | ehsh-KOO-tah | Você escuta rádio? |
| nós | escutamoswe listen (actively) | ehsh-koo-TAH-moosh | Nós escutamos os vizinhos conversando. |
| vocês / eles / elas | escutamyou all listen (actively) | ehsh-KOO-tahng | Vocês escutam esse podcast? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | escuteiI listened (actively) | ehsh-koo-TAY | Eu escutei a música nova ontem. |
| você / ele / ela | escutouyou listened (actively) | ehsh-koo-TOH | Você escutou o que ele falou? |
| nós | escutamoswe listened (actively) | ehsh-koo-TAH-moosh | Nós escutamos o show inteiro. |
| vocês / eles / elas | escutaramyou all listened (actively) | ehsh-koo-TAH-rahng | Vocês escutaram o barulho? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | escutavaI used to listen (actively) / was listening | ehsh-koo-TAH-vah | Eu escutava rádio todo dia no carro. |
| você / ele / ela | escutavayou used to listen (actively) / were listening | ehsh-koo-TAH-vah | Você escutava música alta? |
| nós | escutávamoswe used to listen (actively) / were listening | ehsh-koo-TAH-vah-moosh | Nós escutávamos os discos do meu pai. |
| vocês / eles / elas | escutavamyou all used to listen (actively) / were listening | ehsh-koo-TAH-vahng | Vocês escutavam essa banda? |
More “Rotina e lazer” verbs
- comer to eat
- beber to drink
- tomar to take (a shower, a coffee, medicine)
- cozinhar to cook
- almoçar to have lunch
- jantar to have dinner
- assistir to watch
- dançar to dance
- viajar to travel
- descansar to rest
- praticar to practice
- treinar to train
- curtir to enjoy (slang)
- aproveitar to make the most of, to take advantage of
- frequentar to attend, to go regularly
- jogar to play (sports), to throw
- torcer to root for, to cheer (for a team)
- brincar to play (kids), to joke
- nadar to swim
- passear to go for a walk, to stroll
- ganhar to win, to earn
- perder to lose