Inklingo

cuéntame

KWEN-tah-meh/ˈkwen.ta.me/

cuéntame means Tell me in Spanish (asking for information or a story).

Tell me

Also: Go on, tell me, Fill me in
VerbA1Irregular (stem-changing o>ue) arinformal
A small child sitting next to an older adult, leaning in with an expectant and eager expression, ready to listen to a story or information.
infinitivecontar
gerundcontando
past Participlecontado

📝 In Action

Llegaste tarde, ¿por qué? ¡Cuéntame todo!

A1

You arrived late, why? Tell me everything!

No te quedes callado. Cuéntame qué pasó en la reunión de ayer.

A2

Don't stay quiet. Tell me what happened at yesterday's meeting.

Si tienes un minuto, siéntate y cuéntame sobre tu nuevo proyecto.

B1

If you have a minute, sit down and tell me about your new project.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • dime (tell me (from decir))
  • infórmame (inform me)

Common Collocations

  • cuéntame mástell me more
  • cuéntame tu díatell me about your day

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedcuenta
yocuento
cuentas
ellos/ellas/ustedescuentan
nosotroscontamos
vosotroscontáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedcontaba
yocontaba
contabas
ellos/ellas/ustedescontaban
nosotroscontábamos
vosotroscontabais

preterite

él/ella/ustedcontó
yoconté
contaste
ellos/ellas/ustedescontaron
nosotroscontamos
vosotroscontasteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedcuente
yocuente
cuentes
ellos/ellas/ustedescuenten
nosotroscontemos
vosotroscontéis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedcontara/contase
yocontara/contase
contaras/contases
ellos/ellas/ustedescontaran/contasen
nosotroscontáramos/contásemos
vosotroscontarais/contaseis

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: cuéntame

Question 1 of 2

Which of these requests uses the correct formal (usted) command for 'tell me'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family
contar(to tell, to count)Verb
el cuento(the story, the tale)Noun
cuentista(storyteller)Noun
🎵 Rhymes
damellámame
📚 Etymology

The root verb, 'contar', comes from the Latin verb *computare*, which originally meant 'to compute' or 'to count'. Over time, its meaning expanded in Spanish to include 'to narrate' or 'to tell a story'.

First recorded: 13th century (for the root verb)

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: conta-meFrench: compter

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Frequently Asked Questions

¿Por qué lleva acento 'cuéntame'?

The accent mark is necessary because when you attach the pronoun 'me' to the command 'cuenta', the word becomes three syllables long ('cuén-ta-me'). The accent ensures the stress stays on the first syllable, where it belongs, following standard Spanish stress rules.

Is 'cuéntame' always about telling a story?

Not always a long story! It can mean 'tell me' in the sense of asking for any piece of information, like 'Cuéntame qué quieres' (Tell me what you want) or asking for a quick update.