Contar in Portuguese: Count, Tell a Story, or Rely on Someone — Practice

Use contar for counting numbers or items

Contar means “to count” when it refers to numbers, money, objects, or time. The context usually makes this meaning obvious: contar até dez (count to ten), contar as moedas (count the coins). The verb is regular in the present except for its spelling and conjugation patterns as an -ar verb.

Count what you can see or name a sequence. If you mean that you are calculating a total, contar can still work, but somar or calcular may be more precise in some contexts.

Use contar to tell someone information or a story

Contar can mean “to tell” when you share a story, experience, or piece of information. A common pattern is contar algo para alguém (tell something to someone) or contar que… (tell that…). Context changes the translation while the Portuguese verb stays the same.

Use a person after para when you want to identify the listener: contei a novidade para a minha irmã. In casual speech, para often reduces to pra, while careful writing usually keeps para.

Use contar com for relying on someone or including them

Contar com means “to count on” or “to rely on” someone or something. It can also mean to include someone in a plan: pode contar comigo (you can count on me). The preposition com is an important part of this pattern.

This expression often communicates support, but do not promise more than you can offer. Add a specific action or condition if you want the commitment to be clear.

Use the words around contar to find the meaning

Look for a number or object after contar when it means count, a story or clause when it means tell, and com when it means count on. The surrounding words prevent you from forcing one English translation onto every sentence.

For more verbs with several translations, explore Real Life Portuguese guides to falar and dizer, and pedir and perguntar. I Speak Portuguese teachers can help you practice telling a short story and offering support in a conversation. Repeat the full phrase until the structure feels familiar.

Remember: Contar can mean count, tell, or rely on. Notice whether the sentence contains items/numbers, a story or clause, or the pattern contar com.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. My son already knows how to count to twenty.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Meu filho já sabe contar até vinte.

2. Can you count how many chairs are in the room?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Pode contar quantas cadeiras estão na sala?

3. I’m going to count the money before closing the register.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou contar o dinheiro antes de fechar o caixa.

4. She told a funny story to the children.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela contou uma história engraçada para as crianças.

5. I’m going to tell you what happened.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou contar para você o que aconteceu.

6. He said that he is going to move to another city.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ele contou que vai mudar de cidade.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Contar can mean count, tell, or rely on. Notice whether the sentence contains items/numbers, a story or clause, or the pattern contar com.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Contar in Portuguese: Count, Tell a Story, or Rely on Someone? lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.