Turn this distinction into automatic recall
Falando teaches Brazilian Portuguese through grammar, vocabulary, audio, examples, and spaced review, so confusing pairs stop feeling like guesses.
Quick answer
Contar develops a story or piece of news; dizer focuses on the message or words said.
A reliable test is to identify the job of the word before translating from English.
What each word does
contar
to tell, recount, or count
Use contar for narrating a story, sharing news, revealing something, or counting items.
dizer
to say or tell
Use dizer for expressing particular words, a statement, answer, or instruction.
How to choose
- contar: Choose contar if the sentence points to narrating a story, sharing news, revealing something, or counting items.
- dizer: Choose dizer if the sentence points to expressing particular words, a statement, answer, or instruction.
Examples
Ela contou uma história engraçada.
She told a funny story.
Ela disse a verdade.
She told the truth.
Common trap
Contar also means to count. Dizer is usually better before a quotation, while contar is natural for what happened.
Practice it in context
Pick one sentence from your real life and write it twice: once with contar, then once with dizer. If both versions feel possible, name the meaning shift.
Turn this distinction into automatic recall
Falando teaches Brazilian Portuguese through grammar, vocabulary, audio, examples, and spaced review, so confusing pairs stop feeling like guesses.