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"Oír" is a transitive verb which is often translated as "to hear", and "bien" is an adverb which is often translated as "well". Learn more about the difference between "oír" and "bien" below.
oír(
oh
-
eer
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
a. to hear
Las paredes son tan finas que oigo a los vecinos hablar.The walls are so thin I can hear the neighbors talking.
a. to hear
Me quejé a mucha gente, pero nadie quiso oírme.I complained to many people, but nobody wanted to hear me.
a. to get (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
“No lo vuelvas a hacer, ¿me oyes?” dijo el maestro."Don't do it again, got it?" said the teacher.
oírse
A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).
A reciprocal verb is a verb that indicates that two or more subjects perform an action on each other (e.g., Ellos se abrazan.).
a. to hear each other
Fue una llamada muy frustrante porque no nos oíamos nada.It was a very frustrating call because we couldn't hear each other at all.
bien, el bien(
byehn
)An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or other adverbs (e.g., to run quickly, very tired).
2. (properly)
a. well
Si la carne molida no se cocina bien, las bacterias no mueren.If the ground meat is not cooked well, the bacteria don't die.
3. (all right)
4. (extremely)
a. very
Me di un paseo bien largo para despejar mi mente.I went for a very long walk to clear my mind.
a. well
Cuando viajé a España, me comentaban que sabía hablar bien el español.When I traveled to Spain, people told me I could speak Spanish well.
a. no direct translation
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
Se hace el tonto pero bien sabía que no nos había pagado.He's pretending he didn't, but he knew full well he hadn't paid us.
Bien podías habérselo dicho.You really could have told him.
A masculine noun is used with masculine articles and adjectives (e.g., el hombre guapo, el sol amarillo).
8. (benefit)
a. good
Está dispuesto a sacrificar su vida por el bien de la nación.He is willing to sacrifice his own life for the good of the nation.
9. (possession)
A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences (e.g., The cat and the dog slept.).
a. no direct translation
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
Bien nos vamos, bien no, pero hay que decidirlo ya.We either go or we don't, but we need to decide.
Tenemos que mudarnos, bien este año, bien el que viene.We have to move, whether it's this year or next.
