contrast.hablar-decir-contar
Hablar, decir, contar: speak, say, tell
Hablar = talk/speak (no transitive content); decir = say/tell specific words (dijo que sí); contar = tell a story, recount (contame qué pasó).
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Explicación
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').
Ejemplos
We talked for an hour, but he didn't tell me the important part.
Región: global
Tell me how your trip went.
Región: global
He didn't talk to me about the problem; only today did he tell me everything.