What's the difference?
These two verbs can be used interchangeably, BUT...
FALAR or, DIZER?
if you want to impress a Brazilian do this: use DIZER in more authoritative contexts, FALAR in casual, everyday sentences. Here's what I mean:
Dizer
Ela me disse que a gente precisa treinar.
➜ She told that we need to practice.
Eu sempre digo, sim!
➜ I always say yes!
Quero dizer, você está no caminho certo.
➜ I mean, you're going the right way.
Falar
Ela falou muita coisa.
➜ She said a many things.
Eu vou te falar tudo.
➜ I'm going to tell you everything.
Eu sempre falo devagar.
➜ I always speak slowly.
But the bottom line is this: Use either FALAR or DIZER but favor falar for casual conversation and start adding dizer when trying to speak with more emphasis.
Examples of FALAR & DIZER in action:
» From our online Portuguese course.
Contar
Use CONTAR when telling a story. Like this:
Me conta tudo.
➜ Tell me everything.
Eu vou te contar uma história sobre isso.
➜ I'm going to tell you a story about that.
✻ CONTAR can also mean, to count
Grammar: the expression: QUERER DIZER
This translates to “to mean”.
Quer dizer que você está sem dinheiro? (You mean you have no money?)
Eu quero dizer que eu gostei! (I mean that I liked it!)
Literally: to want to say.
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