Today’s Spanish word of the day is “contar”.
It’s a verb meaning “to count” or “to tell”.
Like the English verb “to count”, Spanish “contar” can be also be used to refer to things having importance or being worthy of consideration, for example:
- Eso no cuenta. – That doesn’t count.
One way in which the Spanish verb “contar” is used differently to English “to count” is that it can also mean “to tell”, as in to share information with someone. This usage shouldn’t be too surprising though, as the English verb “to tell” originally meant “to count” or “to reckon”, and this is preserved in the word “teller” as in automated teller machine (ATM). Telling somebody something often involves recounting something, or giving an account of what happened.
Like in English, you can also talk about counting on someone or something in Spanish:
- Sé que siempre puedo contar contigo. – I know I can always count on you.
The word “contar” comes from the Latin computare, meaning “to calculate”. This is also the root of many English words including “count” and “computer”.
“Contar” is an irregular verb in the present tense, with a stem change from “o” to “ue”. Here’s how to conjugate it in the present tense:
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cuentan – They count/tell, You count/tell (plural)
- Yo cuento – I count/tell
- Tú cuentas – You count/tell
- Él/Ella/Usted cuenta – He/She counts/tells, You count/tell (formal singular)
- Nosotros/Nosotras contamos – We count/tell
- Vosotros/Vosotras contáis – You count/tell (informal plural, only used in Spain)
Example sentences
Voy a contar hasta diez.
I’m going to count to ten.
Ella le contó a su amigo todo lo que había sucedido.
She told her friend everything that had happened.
Me gusta contar chistes.
I like to tell jokes.
¿Puedes contar el dinero?
Can you count the money?
En este juego, cada detalle cuenta.
In this game, every detail matters.
