# Hablar, decir, contar: speak, say, tell

> id: contrast.hablar-decir-contar · category: contrast · depth: standard · levels: A2 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Hablar = talk/speak (no transitive content); decir = say/tell specific words (dijo que sí); contar = tell a story, recount (contame qué pasó).

Three verbs cover English 'speak/say/tell', and they don't overlap. Hablar is 'to talk/speak' as an activity, with no specific words reported: hablamos una hora, hablar español, hablar con el jefe, hablar de negocios. Crucially, you cannot say *hablar que — reported content needs decir.

Decir is 'to say/tell' specific words or information: me dijo la verdad, dijo que sí, decí algo. It takes a direct object (the words) and often que + clause. Contar is 'to tell' in the sense of recounting or narrating: contar un chiste ('tell a joke'), contame qué pasó ('tell me what happened'), te cuento después.

Two useful extras: contar also means 'to count' (numbers), and contar con means 'to count on / rely on' (cuento con vos). Regional synonyms for casual talking include platicar (Mexico and Central America) and charlar ('to chat').

## Examples
- Hablamos una hora, pero no me dijo lo importante. — We talked for an hour, but he didn't tell me the important part.
- Contame cómo te fue en el viaje. — Tell me how your trip went.
- No me habló del problema; recién hoy me contó todo. — He didn't talk to me about the problem; only today did he tell me everything.

Related: grammar.clauses.noun-clauses

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Spanish Rules Library — spanishruleslibrary.com