contar

From Latin computāre.

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

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

Inherited from Latin computāre. Compare Occitan contar, French conter.

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencia)
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

contar (first-person singular present conto, first-person singular preterite contí, past participle contat); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /o/

1. (transitive) to tell, to say

• “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, 2025
• “contar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese contar, from Latin computāre. Doublet of computar.

• IPA^(key): /konˈtaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: con‧tar

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

1. (transitive) to count; to compute

   Synonyms: computar, osmar

   • 1280, Clarinda de Azevedo Maia, editor, História do galego-português. Estado linguístico da Galiza e do Noroeste de Portugal do século XII ao século XVI, Coimbra: I.N.I.C, page 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

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. (intransitive) to rely, to count

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “contar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “contar”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “contar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “contar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “contar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

From Spanish contar.

contar

1. to tell (a story); to narrate

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

• Hyphenation: con‧tar

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

1. (transitive) to tell (to convey 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 old; to have of existence

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

5. (intransitive) to rely, to count

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

6. (intransitive or transitive) 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.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:contar.

• contável
• contar vantagem

• Kabuverdianu: konta

• “contar”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “contar”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “contar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “contar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “contar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “contar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Inherited from Latin computāre. Doublet of computar. Cognate with English count and compute.

• IPA^(key): /konˈtaɾ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: con‧tar

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. (intransitive) to rely
5. (intransitive) to have available

   Contamos con suficiente personal para atenderle apropiadamente.

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

• “contar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

• contra, cantor, cortan, tranco, cartón

From Latin computō, computāre (compare Italian contare).

contar

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