contar

contar

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō.

Verb

contar (first-person singular indicative present conto, past participle contáu)

1. (transitive) count (enumerate or determine a number)

Conjugation

Conjugation of contar

infinitive		contar
gerund		contando
past participle		m contáu, f contada, n contao, m pl contaos, f pl contaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	conto	contes	conta	contamos	contáis	conten
	imperfect	contaba	contabes	contaba	contábemos, contábamos	contabeis, contabais	contaben
	preterite	conté	contasti, contesti	contó	contemos	contastis, contestis	contaron
	pluperfect	contare, contara	contares, contaras	contare, contara	contáremos, contáramos	contareis, contarais	contaren, contaran
	future	contaré	contarás	contará	contaremos	contaréis	contarán
	conditional	contaría	contaríes	contaría	contaríemos, contaríamos	contaríeis, contaríais	contaríen
subjunctive	present	conte	contes, contas	conte	contemos	contéis	conten, contan
	imperfect	contare, contara	contares, contaras	contare, contara	contáremos, contáramos	contareis, contarais	contaren, contaran
imperative		—	conta	—	—	contái	—

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Compare Occitan contar, French conter.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /konˈta/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /kunˈta/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /konˈtaɾ/
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

contar (first-person singular present conto, past participle contat)

1. (transitive) to tell, say

Conjugation

Conjugation of contar (first conjugation)

infinitive			contar
present participle			contant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		contat		contada
		plural		contats		contades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	conto	contes	conta	contem	conteu	conten
	imperfect	contava	contaves	contava	contàvem	contàveu	contaven
	future	contaré	contaràs	contarà	contarem	contareu	contaran
	preterite	contí	contares	contà	contàrem	contàreu	contaren
	conditional	contaria	contaries	contaria	contaríem	contaríeu	contarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	conti	contis	conti	contem	conteu	contin
	imperfect	contés	contessis	contés	contéssim	contéssiu	contessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
		—	conta	conti	contem	conteu	contin

Further reading

• “contar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “contar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “contar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “contar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Portuguese contar, from Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Doublet of computar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [konˈtaɾ]

Verb

contar (first-person singular present conto, first-person singular preterite contei, past participle contado)

1. (transitive) to count; to compute
   • 1280, Clarinda de Azevedo Maia (ed.), História do galego-português. Estado linguístico da Galiza e do Noroeste de Portugal do século XII ao século XVI. Coimbra: I.N.I.C., pp. 186:

     oſ quaeſ dez anos deſuſu ditos que am de uíír ſe deuẽ a contar deſte dia ena era deſta carta

     said ten aforementioned years to come must be counted from this day of the date of this charter

   Synonyms: computar, osmar

2. (transitive) to tell, recount, narrate

   Avó, cóntame un conto! ― Gandfather, tell me a story!

3. (intransitive) to count, matter (to be of significance)
4. (transitive with con) to count on

Conjugation

Conjugation of contar

	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
Infinitive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
impersonal	contar
personal	contar	contares	contar	contarmos	contardes	contaren
Gerund
	contando
Past participle	singular			plural
masculine	contado			contados
feminine	contada			contadas
Indicative	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	conto	contas	conta	contamos	contades	contan
imperfect	contaba	contabas	contaba	contabamos	contabades	contaban
preterite	contei	contaches	contou	contamos	contastes	contaron
pluperfect	contara	contaras	contara	contaramos	contarades	contaran
future	contarei	contarás	contará	contaremos	contaredes	contarán
conditional	contaría	contarías	contaría	contariamos	contariades	contarían
Subjunctive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	conte	contes	conte	contemos	contedes	conten
preterite	contase	contases	contase	contásemos	contásedes	contasen
future	contar	contares	contar	contarmos	contardes	contaren
Imperative	–	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
affirmative	–	conta	conte	contemos	contade	conten
negative	–	contes	conte	contemos	contedes	conten

Derived terms

• descontar
• recontar

Related terms

• computar
• cómputo
• conta
• conto

 

References

• “contar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “contar” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “contar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “contar” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “contar” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Interlingua

Etymology

From Spanish.

Verb

contar

1. to tell (a story); to narrate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of contar

infinitive		contar
participle		present	perfect
		contante	contate
active		simple	perfect
	present	conta	ha contate
	past	contava	habeva contate
	future	contara	habera contate
	conditional	contarea	haberea contate
	imperative	conta
passive		simple	perfect
	present	es contate	ha essite contate
	past	esseva contate	habeva essite contate
	future	essera contate	habera essite contate
	conditional	esserea contate	haberea essite contate
	imperative	sia contate

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese contar, from Latin computāre. Doublet of computar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈta(ʁ)/ [kõˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈta(ʁ)/ [kõˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kõˈta(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kõˈta(ʁ)/ [kõˈta(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈta(ɻ)/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõˈtaɾ/

• Hyphenation: con‧tar

Verb

contar (first-person singular present conto, first-person singular preterite contei, past participle contado)

1. (transitive with que) to tell that (convey a given information)

   Eles nos contaram que quase morreram. ― They told us that they almost died.

2. (transitive) to tell; to narrate (relate a story or series of events)

   Às vezes precisamos contar umas mentiras. ― Sometimes we need to tell some lies.

3. (transitive) to count (determine the quantity of)

   Contei vinte maçãs. ― I counted twenty apples.

4. (transitive) to be [an amount of time] old; to have [an amount of time] of existence

   O seu primeiro filho conta já dezoito anos. ― His firstborn is already eighteen years old.

5. (transitive with com) to rely on; to count on

   Contamos contigo para trazer a munição. ― We are counting on you to bring the ammunition.

6. (transitive with com or with no preposition (uncommon)) to have at one’s disposal; to have available

   Nosso país conta com um exército medíocre. ― Our country has a mediocre army.

7. (intransitive) to count; to matter (be of significance)

   Aquele ponto não contou, porque o jogador fez falta. ― That point didn’t count, because the player made a foul.

8. inflection of contar:
   1. first/third-person singular future subjunctive
   2. first/third-person singular personal infinitive

Conjugation

    Conjugation of contar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	contar
Personal	contar	contares	contar	contarmos	contardes	contarem
Gerund
	contando
Past participle
Masculine	contado			contados
Feminine	contada			contadas
Indicative
Present	conto	contas	conta	contamos	contais	contam
Imperfect	contava	contavas	contava	contávamos	contáveis	contavam
Preterite	contei	contaste	contou	contamos1, contámos2	contastes	contaram
Pluperfect	contara	contaras	contara	contáramos	contáreis	contaram
Future	contarei	contarás	contará	contaremos	contareis	contarão
Conditional
	contaria	contarias	contaria	contaríamos	contaríeis	contariam
Subjunctive
Present	conte	contes	conte	contemos	conteis	contem
Imperfect	contasse	contasses	contasse	contássemos	contásseis	contassem
Future	contar	contares	contar	contarmos	contardes	contarem
Imperative
Affirmative		conta	conte	contemos	contai	contem
Negative (não)		não contes	não conte	não contemos	não conteis	não contem

¹Brazil.
²Portugal.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:contar.

Derived terms

• contável
• contar vantagem

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: konta

Further reading

• “contar” in iDicionário Aulete.
• “contar” in Dicionário inFormal.
• “contar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “contar” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2023.
• “contar” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “contar” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Doublet of computar. Cognate with English count and compute.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konˈtaɾ/ [kõn̪ˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: con‧tar

Verb

contar (first-person singular present cuento, first-person singular preterite conté, past participle contado)

1. (transitive) to count; to tally
2. (transitive) to tell (a story); narrate

   Synonyms: narrar, relatar, platicar

3. (transitive) to be (a certain number of years of age)

   Cuando contaba treinta años.

   When he was thirty years of age

4. (transitive with con) to rely on
5. (transitive with con) to have available

   Contamos con suficiente personal para atenderle apropiadamente.

   We have enough staff available to take good care of you.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of contar (o-ue alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			contar
gerund			contando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		contado		contada
		plural		contados		contadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cuento	cuentastú contásvos	cuenta	contamos	contáis	cuentan
	imperfect	contaba	contabas	contaba	contábamos	contabais	contaban
	preterite	conté	contaste	contó	contamos	contasteis	contaron
	future	contaré	contarás	contará	contaremos	contaréis	contarán
	conditional	contaría	contarías	contaría	contaríamos	contaríais	contarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cuente	cuentestú contésvos2	cuente	contemos	contéis	cuenten
	imperfect (ra)	contara	contaras	contara	contáramos	contarais	contaran
	imperfect (se)	contase	contases	contase	contásemos	contaseis	contasen
	future1	contare	contares	contare	contáremos	contareis	contaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		cuentatú contávos	cuente	contemos	contad	cuenten
	negative		no cuentes	no cuente	no contemos	no contéis	no cuenten

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of contar (o-ue alternation)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive contar
	dative	contarme	contarte	contarle, contarse	contarnos	contaros	contarles, contarse
	accusative	contarme	contarte	contarlo, contarla, contarse	contarnos	contaros	contarlos, contarlas, contarse
with gerund contando
	dative	contándome	contándote	contándole, contándose	contándonos	contándoos	contándoles, contándose
	accusative	contándome	contándote	contándolo, contándola, contándose	contándonos	contándoos	contándolos, contándolas, contándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative cuenta
	dative	cuéntame	cuéntate	cuéntale	cuéntanos	not used	cuéntales
	accusative	cuéntame	cuéntate	cuéntalo, cuéntala	cuéntanos	not used	cuéntalos, cuéntalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative contá
	dative	contame	contate	contale	contanos	not used	contales
	accusative	contame	contate	contalo, contala	contanos	not used	contalos, contalas
with formal second-person singular imperative cuente
	dative	cuénteme	not used	cuéntele, cuéntese	cuéntenos	not used	cuénteles
	accusative	cuénteme	not used	cuéntelo, cuéntela, cuéntese	cuéntenos	not used	cuéntelos, cuéntelas
with first-person plural imperative contemos
	dative	not used	contémoste	contémosle	contémonos	contémoos	contémosles
	accusative	not used	contémoste	contémoslo, contémosla	contémonos	contémoos	contémoslos, contémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative contad
	dative	contadme	not used	contadle	contadnos	contaos	contadles
	accusative	contadme	not used	contadlo, contadla	contadnos	contaos	contadlos, contadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative cuenten
	dative	cuéntenme	not used	cuéntenle	cuéntennos	not used	cuéntenles, cuéntense
	accusative	cuéntenme	not used	cuéntenlo, cuéntenla	cuéntennos	not used	cuéntenlos, cuéntenlas, cuéntense

Derived terms

• cuentachistes
• cuentacuentos
• cuentagotas
• cuentakilómetros
• cuentarrevoluciones
• cuéntaselo a Rita
• los casis no cuentan
• me lo dices o me lo cuentas
• ¿qué me cuentas?
• ¿qué te cuentas?
• ser habas contadas
• si yo te contara
• y para de contar
• y pare usted de contar

 

Related terms

• contabilidad
• contador
• cuenta
• cuento
• descontar
• descuento

 

Further reading

• “contar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Anagrams

• contra, cantor, cortan, tranco, cartón

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Venetian

Etymology

From Latin computō, computāre (compare Italian contare).

Verb

contar

1. (transitive) to count (all senses)
2. (transitive) to tell (a story)