Audiō means “hear,” “listen to,” or “learn by hearing.” Its principal parts are audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum. The regular fourth-conjugation present stem is audī-, the perfect stem audīv-, and the supine stem audīt-. Contracted perfect forms occur, but the uncontracted forms make the structure clearest and are the safest production model.
Latin does not make English’s rigid lexical distinction between involuntary “hear” and deliberate “listen.” Audiō can express either, while the context, an imperative, or an adverb supplies the difference. The person or sound heard is normally accusative.
Active Indicative
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | audiō | audīs | audit | audīmus | audītis | audiunt |
| Imperfect | audiēbam | audiēbās | audiēbat | audiēbāmus | audiēbātis | audiēbant |
| Future | audiam | audiēs | audiet | audiēmus | audiētis | audient |
| Perfect | audīvī | audīvistī | audīvit | audīvimus | audīvistis | audīvērunt / audīvēre |
| Pluperfect | audīveram | audīverās | audīverat | audīverāmus | audīverātis | audīverant |
| Future perfect | audīverō | audīveris | audīverit | audīverimus | audīveritis | audīverint |
Vōcem tuam nōn audiō; propius accēde.
I cannot hear your voice; come closer.
Dum forīs exspectābam, clāmōrem audiēbam.
While I was waiting outside, I could hear shouting.
Crās tōtam causam audiēmus.
Tomorrow we shall hear the whole case.
Herī rem incrēdibilem audīvī.
Yesterday I heard an unbelievable thing.
Imperfect audiēbam presents an ongoing sound or repeated listening. Perfect audīvī presents the act as complete and often introduces information acquired at a particular moment. In legal contexts, causam audīre is “hear a case” (formal).
The v of the perfect may be omitted in contracted forms: audiī, audīstī, audieram, audīsse alongside audīvī, audīvistī, audīveram, audīvisse. Such forms are Classical, not mistakes. For production, the full forms are transparent; for reading, recognize both.
Active Subjunctive
| Tense | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | audiam | audiās | audiat | audiāmus | audiātis | audiant |
| Imperfect | audīrem | audīrēs | audīret | audīrēmus | audīrētis | audīrent |
| Perfect | audīverim | audīverīs | audīverit | audīverīmus | audīverītis | audīverint |
| Pluperfect | audīvissem | audīvissēs | audīvisset | audīvissēmus | audīvissētis | audīvissent |
Tacē, ut nūntium audiāmus.
Be quiet so that we may hear the messenger.
Sī mē audīvissēs, hoc perīculum vītāvissēs.
If you had listened to me, you would have avoided this danger.
The form audiam can be future indicative or present subjunctive. Mox audiam is future; ut audiam is subjunctive. The second example also shows that an accusative person can mean the person heeded, not merely a sound perceived.
Passive System
| Tense or mood | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. | 3rd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present indicative | audior | audīris | audītur | audīmur | audīminī | audiuntur |
| Imperfect indicative | audiēbar | audiēbāris | audiēbātur | audiēbāmur | audiēbāminī | audiēbantur |
| Future indicative | audiar | audiēris | audiētur | audiēmur | audiēminī | audientur |
| Present subjunctive | audiar | audiāris | audiātur | audiāmur | audiāminī | audiantur |
| Imperfect subjunctive | audīrer | audīrēris | audīrētur | audīrēmur | audīrēminī | audīrentur |
Perfect passives use audītus, -a, -um plus sum: audītus est perfect, audītus erat pluperfect, audītus erit future perfect, audītus sit perfect subjunctive, and audītus esset pluperfect subjunctive. The participle agrees with the sound, person, or report heard.
Clāmor etiam ex ultimā parte urbis audītur.
The shouting can be heard even from the farthest part of the city.
Vōx eius ā nūllō audīta est.
His voice was heard by no one.
Commands and Non-Finite Forms
The present active imperatives are audī, audīte. They often mean “listen!” or “pay attention!” rather than merely “perceive a sound.” Passive audīre, audīminī and future audītō, audītōte, audiuntō are (formal/archaic).
| Category | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | audīre | audīrī |
| Perfect infinitive | audīvisse / audīsse | audītum esse |
| Future infinitive | audītūrum esse | audītum īrī (rare/formal) |
| Participles | audiēns; audītūrus | audītus; audiendus |
| Gerund | audiendī, audiendō, audiendum, audiendō | — |
| Supines | audītum, audītū | — |
Dīxit sē omnia audīvisse.
He said that he had heard everything.
Orātōrem attentē audiēns, sententiam meam mūtāvī.
Listening carefully to the speaker, I changed my opinion.
Utraque pars ante iūdicium audienda est.
Each side must be heard before judgment.
The gerundive is particularly natural when fairness or deliberation requires someone to be heard. The person responsible can be dative: nōbīs utraque pars audienda est “we must hear both sides.”
Objects and Reported Content
A sound or speaker appears in the accusative: vōcem audiō, orātōrem audīmus. The same construction can mean heed or obey someone, especially with an imperative or evaluative context: mē audī “listen to me.” Latin needs no equivalent of English “to” after “listen.”
When what is heard is a complete proposition, Classical prose commonly uses accusative-and-infinitive. The accusative is the understood subject of the infinitive, and the infinitive expresses time relative to audiō.
Audiō hostēs ad flūmen adesse.
I hear that the enemy are at the river.
Audīvimus lēgātōs iam profectōs esse.
We heard that the envoys had already departed.
The present infinitive adesse is simultaneous with the hearing; perfect profectōs esse is prior. See the accusative subject of the infinitive for the full structure.
For a topic rather than an asserted report, dē plus ablative is common: dē victōriā audīvimus “we heard about the victory.” A source may be introduced by ab, ex, or a phrase shaped by context: haec ex frātre audīvī “I heard this from my brother.”
Reputation and Naming
The idioms bene audīre and male audīre mean “be well spoken of” and “be badly spoken of” (formal). Here the subject has a reputation; there need not be an explicit sound as object. A predicate expression may also convey what someone is called or reputed to be, especially in elevated prose.
Poēta novus apud iuvenēs bene audit.
The new poet has a good reputation among the young people.
This idiom cannot be translated word for word as “he hears well,” which would suggest physical hearing. The adverb and social context trigger the reputational sense.
Compounds
The chief Classical compound is exaudiō, exaudīre, exaudīvī, exaudītum, “hear clearly,” “give a hearing to,” or “heed.” It is common when a plea or prayer is successfully heard (formal/religious). The historically related oboediō “obey” has become its own lexical verb and should be learned separately rather than treated as a freely predictable compound.
Dux precēs captīvōrum exaudīvit.
The commander granted a hearing to the prisoners’ pleas.
Parsing Diagnostic
First identify audi-, audīv-, contracted perfect aud-/-audi-, or audīt-. Determine tense, mood, and voice from the ending and any auxiliary. Then ask whether the accusative denotes a sound, a speaker who is heard or heeded, or the subject of an infinitive. Look for dē marking a topic and an adverb such as bene or male signaling reputation.
Common Mistakes
Inventing the wrong perfect stem
❌ Herī clāmōrem auduī.
Incorrect — the perfect is audīvī (or contracted audiī).
✅ Herī clāmōrem audīvī.
Yesterday I heard shouting.
Adding a preposition before the person heard
❌ Audī ad mē!
Incorrect for ‘listen to me’; the person is a direct object.
✅ Mē audī!
Listen to me!
Using ut for a reported statement
❌ Audiō ut hostēs veniant.
Incorrect for a report meaning ‘I hear that the enemy are coming.’
✅ Audiō hostēs venīre.
I hear that the enemy are coming.
Translating bene audit literally
❌ Ille medicus bene audit.
Incorrectly interpreted as ‘that doctor has good hearing’ in this reputational idiom.
✅ Ille medicus apud cīvēs bene audit.
That doctor has a good reputation among the citizens.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum, while recognizing contracted perfects.
- The accusative can mark a sound, a speaker heard or obeyed, or the subject of an infinitive.
- Use dē plus ablative for hearing about a topic.
- Context distinguishes physical hearing, deliberate listening, reported information, and reputation.
Now practice Latin
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Latin →Related Topics
- Invenio: To FindA2 — A complete reference for inveniō, including its stem changes, active and passive paradigms, non-finite forms, senses, and the veniō compound family.
- Cupio: To DesireA2 — A complete reference for cupiō, covering its mixed third-conjugation present system, perfect forms, complements, passive limits, and expressions of desire.