What Say in Spanish

To say “say” in Spanish, use decir for speech, decirle for telling someone, and decir que when you report what was said.

You run into “say” all day: you say hello, you say what you think, you say a number out loud, you say no, you say you’re sorry. In English, one small verb handles a lot. In Spanish, the word you pick depends on the kind of “say” you mean.

This guide gives you the go-to choices, the forms you’ll hear most, and ready-to-steal lines you can drop into real chats. You’ll see where decir fits, where it doesn’t, and how to dodge the common traps that make a sentence sound off.

If you type what say in spanish into a search bar, you’re usually asking one thing: “Which Spanish word matches the English verb ‘say’?” The closest direct match is decir. It covers “say,” “tell,” and “state,” depending on the sentence.

Still, Spanish splits the job across a few patterns. Start with these three, since they solve most daily needs:

Decir + words: Digo la verdad. (I say the truth.)
Decirle + person + words: Le digo mi nombre. (I tell him/her my name.)
Decir que + clause: Digo que llego tarde. (I say that I’m late.)

Then add a few close helpers that English often calls “say,” but Spanish treats as their own idea:

Hablar: “to talk” as an activity. Hablo con mi hermana.
Contar: “to tell” a story or “to count.” Te cuento lo que pasó.
Mencionar: “to mention.” Mencioné tu nombre.
Repetir: “to repeat.” Repite, por favor.

Use the table below as a quick chooser. Read the left side, pick the Spanish pattern in the middle, then copy the short line on the right and swap in your own words.

What You Mean In English	Spanish Verb Or Pattern	Starter Line
Say something out loud	decir + noun	Digo una palabra.
Say your name	decir + name	Me llamo Ana. / Digo mi nombre.
Tell someone a fact	decirle + a alguien	Le digo la hora.
Say that… (report a clause)	decir que + clause	Digo que no puedo.
Say hello / goodbye	saludar / despedirse	Te saludo. / Me despido.
Say sorry	perdonar / disculpar	Perdón. / Disculpa.
Say “please”	por favor	Por favor, un café.
Say a number	decir + number	Digo tres, no dos.
Say something again	repetir	Repite eso.
Tell a story	contar	Te cuento algo.

Saying Things In Spanish With The Right Verb Choice

When English uses “say,” it can point to speech, talk, a quote, an opinion, a story, or a small polite line. Spanish asks you to be a bit more specific. If you’re stuck, use this three-step pick:

Is it a message you deliver? Start with decir or decirle.
Is it a conversation? Use hablar or charlar.
Is it a story or account? Use contar.

Here’s how those choices feel in real sentences:

Decir for the words themselves

Decir points at the words that come out. It’s the safest default when you mean “say” in a direct, literal way. It works with a noun, a short phrase, or a whole idea.

No digas eso. (Don’t say that.)
¿Qué dijiste? (What did you say?)
Dije la verdad. (I said the truth.)

Hablar for talking as an activity

If the point is that people are talking, not the exact message, Spanish leans on hablar. Pair it with con when you mean “talk with.”

Hablo con mi jefe mañana. (I talk with my boss tomorrow.)
No quiero hablar de eso. (I don’t want to talk about that.)

Contar for telling a story or giving details

Use contar when you “say” a longer thing, like what happened, what you saw, or what someone did. It’s also the verb for counting, so context matters.

Te cuento lo que pasó. (I’ll tell you what happened.)
Ella contó todo. (She told everything.)

Mencionar for a quick drop-in

When you “say” a name or detail in passing, mencionar fits better than decir.

Mencioné tu idea en la reunión. (I mentioned your idea in the meeting.)
No lo menciono otra vez. (I won’t mention it again.)

Conjugating Decir Without Guessing

Decir is irregular, so it has a few forms you just learn as chunks. If you want an official reference for meaning and usage, the RAE dictionary definition of decir lays out its core senses.

For daily speech, you’ll get far with these high-frequency forms:

Present: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
Preterite: dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron
Imperfect: decía, decías, decía, decíamos, decíais, decían
Futuro: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán

Two spots trip people up: the “go” change in digo and the “j” forms like dije. Treat them like fixed words. Say them out loud a few times, then plug them into short lines you’ll reuse.

Imperatives you’ll hear a lot

Commands with decir show up in daily talk, especially when someone wants you to speak up or explain. The forms depend on who you’re talking to.

Tú:di (Say it.)
Usted:diga (Say it.)
Ustedes:digan (Say it.)

If you want the Academy’s note on these command forms and other usage points, the RAE Diccionario panhispánico de dudas entry for decir spells them out.

Using Pronouns With Decirle And Decirme

Spanish often marks the person who receives the message with an indirect object pronoun. That’s why you’ll see decirle (tell him/her/you formal), decirme (tell me), and decirnos (tell us).

Quick pronoun map

me = to me
te = to you (informal)
le = to him / to her / to you (formal)
nos = to us
les = to them / to you all (formal)

In a normal sentence, the pronoun comes before the conjugated verb:

Me dices la verdad. (You tell me the truth.)
Le digo la hora. (I tell him/her the time.)

With an infinitive or a gerund, you get two clean options: put the pronoun before the first verb, or attach it to the end of the second verb. Pick the one that feels smoother.

Te voy a decir la verdad.
Voy a decirte la verdad.
Le estoy diciendo la hora.
Estoy diciéndole la hora.

One more detail: when you attach a pronoun and the stress shifts, Spanish uses an accent mark to keep the sound. That’s why diciéndole has an accent.

Common Patterns That Replace “Say”

Sometimes English says “say” but Spanish picks a different verb or fixed phrase. These swaps make your Spanish sound natural without you having to hunt for a perfect one-word match.

Polite lines

“Say please”:Di “por favor”. or just use por favor in your request.
“Say thank you”:Da las gracias. or Di “gracias”.
“Say sorry”:Pedir perdón or disculparse.

Reporting what someone said

English often uses “say” as a reporting verb. Spanish does that too, and decir que is the workhorse. If you’re quoting a person, you can use direct speech with a colon in writing, or indirect speech with que.

Ella dijo: “Vuelvo luego”.
Ella dijo que volvía luego.

“That is” and “I mean”

Es decir works like “that is” or “I mean,” used when you clarify what you just said. It’s common in writing and speech.

Trabajo en ventas, es decir, en atención al cliente.
No mañana; es decir, el sábado.

Se Dice And Cómo Se Dice

When you ask “How do you say X?”, Spanish often uses an impersonal pattern: ¿Cómo se dice…? It’s a clean way to ask for a word without naming who “says” it. You’ll hear it in classrooms, shops, and friend chats. Write it down, say it twice, then use it tonight.

Use se dice when the focus is the phrase itself:

¿Cómo se dice “receipt” en español?
Se dice “recibo”.

Use se llama when you mean “it’s called” and you’re naming an object, a place, or a thing with a label:

¿Cómo se llama esto?
Se llama “cargador”.

In writing, you may see se dice que as “it is said that,” often used to report a claim without naming the speaker. In daily talk, people tend to name a source instead: Dicen que… or Me dijeron que…

What To Say In Spanish In Real Moments

If your goal is fast, usable speech, skip abstract lists and steal full lines. Then tweak one word at a time. The table below groups lines by common moments, with a short note so you know when each one fits.

These are not “textbook only” lines. You’ll hear them in cafés, offices, group chats, and on the street. If you say them with a calm tone, you’ll sound natural even if your accent is still in progress.

Moment	What To Say	Small Note
Starting a chat	Hola, ¿qué tal?	Casual opener, works almost anywhere
Getting attention	Perdona, una pregunta.	Soft, polite lead-in
Ordering food	Por favor, quiero un café con leche.	Swap the item, keep the frame
Saying you don’t understand	No entiendo. ¿Puedes repetir?	Pair with a friendly smile
Checking meaning	¿Qué quiere decir?	Use for words, signs, messages
Sharing an opinion	Yo diría que sí.	Soft “I’d say yes” without sounding harsh
Giving a heads-up	Te digo una cosa: llego tarde.	Natural lead-in before news
Fixing a misunderstanding	Quise decir otra cosa.	Use when you misspoke
Ending politely	Gracias. Que tengas buen día.	Works in shops and offices

Mini scripts you can remix

Use these short back-and-forth snippets as practice. Read them out loud, then swap nouns and places to make your own versions.

A:¿Qué dijiste?B:Dije que llego en diez minutos.
A:No me digas.B:En serio. Me lo dijo Ana.
A:¿Cómo se dice “receipt”?B:Se dice “recibo”.

Mini Checklist For Saying It Right

Before you speak, run this quick mental checklist. It keeps your choice tight and stops you from translating word-by-word from English.

Message? Use decir, and add the person with me/te/le/nos/les when needed.
Quote? Use dijo: “…” for direct speech, or dijo que… for reported speech.
Conversation? Use hablar or charlar.
Story? Use contar.
One tiny detail? Use mencionar.
Need a repeat? Ask ¿Puedes repetir? or say Repite, por favor.

Last tip: if you’re ever unsure, ask with ¿Cómo se dice…? and let the other person hand you the right word. Native speakers do this with new terms too, so it never sounds weird.

If you came here asking what say in spanish, keep one phrase at the top of your mind: ¿Qué quiere decir? It’s the quickest way to turn confusion into clarity, and you’ll use it again and again.