contare

count

verb kohn-TAH-reh Less Common

Origin: from Latin 'computare', to calculate

Also means

matter

Usage Note

Contare means both 'to count' numbers and 'to matter', as in quello che conta ('what counts'). Followed by su it means to rely on someone: conto su di te ('I'm counting on you'). It shares its Latin root with computare and English 'compute'.

Examples

"Conta fino a dieci."

Natural Translation

Count to ten.

Literal Translation

Count up-to ten.

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