What does cantar in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word cantar in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use cantar in Spanish.

The word cantar in Spanish means sing, sing, chirp, chirrup, squeal, come clean, canto, reek, sing praises, sing in the shower, give a piece of your mind, Song of Songs, Song of Solomon, Canticle, proclaim victory, beg for mercy, beg for , beg to do, haul over the coals, give a beating, call "bingo", declare victory, count your chickens before they hatch, don't count your chickens before they hatch, be a piece of cake, be a doddle, be a horse of a different color, and on to another topic. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word cantar

sing

verbo intransitivo (emitir sonidos melodiosos)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
El vecino siempre canta en la ducha.
The neighbour always sings in the shower.

sing

verbo transitivo (entonar una canción)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
En México se acostumbra cantar Las Mañanitas en las fiestas de cumpleaños.
In Mexico they usually sing Las Mañanitas on people's birthdays.

chirp, chirrup

verbo intransitivo (ave: gorjear) (bird)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
El sol brilla y los pájaros cantan: es un nuevo día.
The sun is shining and the birds are chirping: it's a new day.

squeal

verbo intransitivo (coloquial (revelar, confesar) (colloquial)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
El ladrón delató a sus cómplices; empezó a cantar en cuanto fue capturado.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. The police have ways of making you sing.

come clean

verbo transitivo (coloquial (revelar algo) (informal: confess)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Arrepentido, el secuestrador se entregó a la policía y cantó todo lo que sabía.
Repentant, the kidnapper turned himself into the police and came clean.

canto

nombre masculino (relato, poema) (literary)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
El «Cantar de mio Cid» es el cantar de gesta más famoso de España.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. In medieval times, street performers used to spread news of important events from town to town using songs.

reek

verbo intransitivo (ES: coloquial (parte del cuerpo: oler mal) (colloquial)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
¡No veas cómo le cantan los pies a mi hijo!
You can't imagine how badly my son's feet reek!

sing praises

locución verbal (en acto religioso)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
La congregación cantó alabanzas durante la ceremonia.
The congregation sang praises during the ceremony.

sing in the shower

locución verbal (cantar al ducharse)

Se puso a cantar bajo la ducha éxitos de los 60.

give a piece of your mind

(informal (proferir insultos)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Song of Songs, Song of Solomon, Canticle

nombre masculino (libro de Salomón)

El Cantar de los Cantares es mi parte favorita de la Biblia.

proclaim victory

locución verbal (ES (cantar victoria)

El Madrid pudo cantar el alirón tras el último partido.

beg for mercy

locución verbal (coloquial (implorar clemencia)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los ladrones, agarrados in fraganti, cantaron el kirieleisón.
The theives, caught red-handed, begged for mercy.

beg for , beg to do

(coloquial (pedirle clemencia)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Ese pobre tuvo que cantarle el kirieleisón a su mujer para que lo perdonara por su desliz.
The poor guy had to beg his wife to forgive him for his slip up.

haul over the coals

(coloquial (tirar la bronca a alguien)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El jefe le cantó las cuarenta al vendedor por su actitud del día anterior.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. I was told off for fraternising with the enemy.

give a beating

locución verbal (AR (al jugar tute) (card game)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
María me cantó las cuarenta y ganó la partida.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. She gave me a good beating at cards and won the bet.

call "bingo"

(en bingo)

declare victory

locución verbal (al ganar la batalla)

Los soldados cantaron victoria después de meses de combate.
The soldiers declared victory after months of combat.

count your chickens before they hatch

expresión (figurado (dar por ganado) (colloquial)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
No cantes victoria antes de tiempo, espera a ver los resultados.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch: wait to see the results.

don't count your chickens before they hatch

expresión (no dar por ganado antes)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

be a piece of cake, be a doddle

locución verbal (coloquial (ser muy sencillo) (colloquial)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El camino difícil se acabó; a partir de ahora es coser y cantar.
The hard part is over, from now on it will be a piece of cake.

be a horse of a different color

locución verbal (informal (ser totalmente distinto)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Ahora sí: con sol, el jardín es otro cantar.
With sunlight the garden's now a horse of a different color.

and on to another topic

expresión (no ser el mismo tema)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of cantar in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.