cantar

See also: cântar

Languages (15)

English

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Aragonese • Asturian • Catalan • Galician • Interlingua • Irish • Occitan • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old Occitan • Old Spanish • Portuguese • Romansh • Spanish • Venetan

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Page categories

English

Noun

cantar (plural cantars)

1. Alternative spelling of kantar.

Anagrams

• arctan

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈta(ɾ)/
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)
• Syllabification: can‧tar

Verb

cantar

1. (transitive, intransitive) to sing

Conjugation

Conjugation of cantar (first conjugation)

infinitive			cantar
gerund			cantando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		cantau, cantato		cantada, cantata
		plural		cantaus, cantatos		cantadas, cantatas
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		yo	tú	él	nusatros nusatras	vusatros vusatras	ellos/els ellas
	present	canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantaz	cantan
	imperfect	cantaba, cantabe	cantabas	cantaba	cantabanos	cantabaz	cantaban
	preterite	canté	cantés	cantó	cantemos	cantez	cantoron, cantón
	future	cantaré	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantarez	cantarán
	conditional	cantaría	cantarías	cantaría	cantaríanos	cantaríaz	cantarían
subjunctive		yo	tú	él	nusatros nusatras	vusatros vusatras	ellos/els ellas
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	cantez	canten
	imperfect	cantase	cantases	cantase	cantasenos	cantasez	cantasen
imperative		—	tú	—	—	vusatros vusatras	—
		—	canta	—	—	cantaz	—

Noun

cantar m (plural cantars)

1. song; chant

References

• “cantar”, in Aragonario, diccionario aragonés–castellano (in Spanish)
• “cantar”, in Diccionario ortografico de l’aragonés (seguntes la PO de l’EFA)‎^[1], Zaragoza: EDACAR, 2023, →ISSN, page 423
• Martínez Tur, Feliciano; Rodés Orquín, Francho (2022), “cantar”, in Diccionario aragonés-castellano-catalán‎^[2], Zaragoza, Spain: Estudio de Filolochía Aragonesa, Edicions Dichitals de l’Academia de l’Aragonés, published April 2025, →ISSN, page 205

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈta(ɾ)/ [kãn̪ˈt̪a(ɾ)]
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

cantar (first-person singular indicative present canto, past participle cantáu)

1. to sing

Conjugation

Conjugation of cantar

infinitive		cantar
gerund		cantando
past participle		m cantáu, f cantada, n cantao, m pl cantaos, f pl cantaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	canto	cantes	canta	cantamos	cantáis	canten
	imperfect	cantaba	cantabes	cantaba	cantábemos, cantábamos	cantabeis, cantabais	cantaben
	preterite	canté	cantasti, cantesti	cantó	cantemos	cantastis, cantestis	cantaron
	pluperfect	cantare, cantara	cantares, cantaras	cantare, cantara	cantáremos, cantáramos	cantareis, cantarais	cantaren, cantaran
	future	cantaré	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaréis	cantarán
	conditional	cantaría	cantaríes	cantaría	cantaríemos, cantaríamos	cantaríeis, cantaríais	cantaríen
subjunctive	present	cante	cantes, cantas	cante	cantemos	cantéis	canten, cantan
	imperfect	cantare, cantara	cantares, cantaras	cantare, cantara	cantáremos, cantáramos	cantareis, cantarais	cantaren, cantaran
imperative		—	canta	—	—	cantái	—

Further reading

• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “cantar”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “cantar”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [kənˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kanˈtaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [kanˈta]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

cantar (first-person singular present canto, first-person singular preterite cantí, past participle cantat)

1. (ambitransitive) to sing
   • 1968, Lluís Llach, “L'estaca”:

     I mentre passen els nous vailets / estiro el coll per cantar / el darrer cant d’en Siset, / el darrer que em va ensenyar.

     And as the new young people pass by, / I stretch out my neck to sing / Siset's last song, / the last one he taught me.

2. (castells, transitive) to call out the names and order of the castellers who will form (a particular castell)

   cantar un castell ― to call a particular castell in this way

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of cantar (first conjugation)

infinitive			cantar
gerund			cantant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		cantat		cantada
		plural		cantats		cantades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	canto	cantes	canta	cantem	canteu	canten
	imperfect	cantava	cantaves	cantava	cantàvem	cantàveu	cantaven
	future	cantaré	cantaràs	cantarà	cantarem	cantareu	cantaran
	preterite	cantí	cantares	cantà	cantàrem	cantàreu	cantaren
	conditional	cantaria	cantaries	cantaria	cantaríem	cantaríeu	cantarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	canti	cantis	canti	cantem	canteu	cantin
	imperfect	cantés	cantessis	cantés	cantéssim	cantéssiu	cantessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	canta	canti	cantem	canteu	cantin
	negative (no)	—	no cantis	no canti	no cantem	no canteu	no cantin

Derived terms

• cantadís
• cantador
• cantussar

Related terms

• cant
• cantata
• càntic
• cantor

References

• “cantar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “cantar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “cantar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “cantar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-

Proto-Indo-European *-éti

Proto-Indo-European *kh₂néti

Proto-Italic *kanō

Latin canō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tos

Latin -tus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin -tō

Latin cantāre

Old Galician-Portuguese cantar

Galician cantar

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese cantar, from Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtaɾ/ [kɑn̪ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: can‧tar

Verb

cantar (first-person singular present canto, first-person singular preterite cantei, past participle cantado)

1. to sing
2. to chant
3. (of a cart or wagon) to screech, to squeak (the axle against its bearings)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cantar
Personal	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantaren
Gerund
	cantando
Past participle
Masculine	cantado			cantados
Feminine	cantada			cantadas
Indicative
Present	canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantades	cantan
Imperfect	cantaba	cantabas	cantaba	cantabamos	cantabades	cantaban
Preterite	cantei	cantaches	cantou	cantamos	cantastes	cantaron
Pluperfect	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantaramos	cantarades	cantaran
Future	cantarei	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaredes	cantarán
Conditional	cantaría	cantarías	cantaría	cantariamos	cantariades	cantarían
Subjunctive
Present	cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	cantedes	canten
Imperfect	cantase	cantases	cantase	cantásemos	cantásedes	cantasen
Future	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantaren
Imperative
Affirmative		canta	cante	cantemos	cantade	canten
Negative (non)		non cantes	non cante	non cantemos	non cantedes	non canten

    Reintegrated conjugation of cantar (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cantar
Personal	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantarem
Gerund
	cantando
Past participle
Masculine	cantado			cantados
Feminine	cantada			cantadas
Indicative
Present	canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantades, cantais	cantam
Imperfect	cantava	cantavas	cantava	cantávamos	cantávades, cantáveis, cantávais1	cantavam
Preterite	cantei	cantaste, cantache1	cantou	cantamos	cantastes	cantárom, cantaram
Pluperfect	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantáramos	cantárades, cantáreis, cantárais1	cantaram
Future	cantarei	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaredes, cantareis	cantarám, cantarão
Conditional	cantaria	cantarias	cantaria	cantaríamos	cantaríades, cantaríeis, cantaríais1	cantariam
Subjunctive
Present	cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	cantedes, canteis	cantem
Imperfect	cantasse	cantasses	cantasse	cantássemos	cantássedes, cantásseis	cantassem
Future	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantarem
Imperative
Affirmative		canta	cante	cantemos	cantade, cantai	cantem
Negative (nom)		nom cantes	nom cante	nom cantemos	nom cantedes, nom canteis	nom cantem

¹Less recommended.

Noun

cantar m (plural cantares)

1. song

   Synonyms: canción, cantiga, cántiga

   • 1978, Fuxan os Ventos, Sementeira (song):

     Sementar sementarei
     loguiño de crarear
     en tanto no pobo medre
     un meniño, un vello e un cantar

     Sowing I'll sow
     soon after it clears
     as long as among the people grow
     a child, an old man and a song

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “cantar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “cantar”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “cantar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “cantar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “cantar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “cantar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “cantar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtar/

Verb

cantar

1. to sing

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkan̪ˠt̪ˠəɾˠ/

Verb

cantar

1. autonomous present indicative/present subjunctive/imperative of can

Mutation

Mutated forms of cantar

radical	lenition	eclipsis
cantar	chantar	gcantar

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Occitan

Alternative forms

• chantar

Etymology

From Old Occitan cantar, chantar, from Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kanˈta]

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

cantar

1. (Gascony, Languedoc, Provençal) to sing

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		cantar			aver cantat
gerund		cantant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		cantat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	canti	cantas	canta	cantam	cantatz	cantan
	imperfect	cantavi	cantavas	cantava	cantàvem	cantàvetz	cantavan
	preterite	cantèri	cantères	cantèt	cantèrem	cantèretz	cantèron
	future	cantarai	cantaràs	cantarà	cantarem	cantaretz	cantaràn
	conditional	cantariái	cantariás	cantariá	cantariam	cantariatz	cantarián
	conditional 2nd form1	cantèra	cantèras	cantèra	canteram	canteratz	cantèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantem	cantetz	canten
	imperfect	cantèssi	cantèsses	cantèsse	cantèssem	cantèssetz	cantèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			canta		cantem	cantatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Auvernhàs

		simple			compound
infinitive		cantar			aver cantat
gerund		cantant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		cantat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	cante	cantes	canta	cantam	cantatz	canton
	imperfect	cantave	cantaves	cantava	cantaviam	cantaviatz	cantavon
	preterite	cantere	canteres	cantet	cantem	cantetz	canteron
	future	cantarai	cantaràs	cantará	cantarem	cantaretz	cantarán
	conditional	cantariá	cantariás	cantariá	cantariam	cantariatz	cantarián
	conditional 2nd form1	cantèra	cantèras	cantèra	canteram	canteratz	cantèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantassiam	cantassiatz	canton
	imperfect	cantesse	cantesses	cantesse	cantessiam	cantessiatz	cantesson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			canta		cantassiam	cantatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Gascon

		simple			compound
infinitive		cantar			aver cantat
gerund		cantant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		cantat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	canti	cantas	canta	cantam	cantatz	cantan
	imperfect	cantavi	cantavas	cantava	cantàvam	cantàvatz	cantavan
	preterite	cantèi	cantès	cantè	cantèm	cantètz	cantèn
	future	cantarèi	cantaràs	cantarà	cantaram	cantaratz	cantaràn
	conditional	cantarí	cantarés	cantaré	cantarem	cantaretz	cantarén
	conditional 2nd form1	cantèra	cantèras	cantèra	canteram	canteratz	cantèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	canti	cantes	cante	cantem	cantetz	canten
	imperfect	cantèssi	cantèsses	cantèsse	cantèssem	cantèssetz	cantèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			canta		cantem	cantatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Lemosin

		simple			compound
infinitive		cantar			aver cantat
gerund		cantant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		cantat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	cante	cantas	canta	cantam	cantatz	cantan
	imperfect	cantava	cantavas	cantava	cantàvam	cantàvatz	cantavan
	preterite	cantei	canteras	cantet	cantèram	cantèratz	canteran
	future	cantarai	cantaràs	cantará	cantarem	cantaretz	cantarán
	conditional	cantariá	cantariàs	cantariá	cantariam	cantariatz	cantarián
	conditional 2nd form1	cantèra	cantèras	cantèra	canteram	canteratz	cantèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantem	cantetz	canten
	imperfect	cantèsse	cantèsses	cantèsse	cantèssem	cantèssetz	cantèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			canta		cantem	cantatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

    Provençau

		simple			compound
infinitive		cantar			aver cantat
gerund		cantant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		cantat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	cante	cantes	canta	cantam	cantatz	cantan
	imperfect	cantavi	cantavas	cantava	cantàvem	cantàvetz	cantavan
	preterite	cantère	cantères	cantèt	canteriam	canteriatz	cantèron
	future	cantarai	cantaràs	cantarà	cantarem	cantaretz	cantaràn
	conditional	cantariáu	cantariás	cantariá	cantariam	cantariatz	cantarián
	conditional 2nd form1	cantèra	cantèras	cantèra	canteram	canteratz	cantèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantem	cantetz	cantan
	imperfect	cantèsse	cantèsses	cantèsse	cantessiam	cantessiatz	cantèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			canta		cantem	cantatz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

• cantador

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cantāre, frequentative from canere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kã.ˈtaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ

Verb

cantar

1. to sing (to produce music with one’s voice)
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 6 (facsimile):

     Eſta e como ſanta maria reſſucitou ao menỹo que o Judeu matara por que cantaua Gaude uirgo maria.

     This one is how Holy Mary resurrected the boy who the Jew had killed because he sang Gaude Virgo Maria.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar

infinitive				cantar
gerund		simple		cantando
		compound		gerund of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
past participle				singular		plural
		masculine		cantado		cantados
		feminine		cantada		cantadas
present participle				cantante		cantantes
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative mood		eu ei	tu	el~ele ela	nos nos outros nos outras	vos vos outros vos outras	eles elas
simple tenses	present	canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantades, cantaes, cantais, cantaas, cantás	cantan
	imperfect	cantava	cantavas	cantava	cantavamos, cantávamos	cantavades, cantávades, cantávaes, cantávais, cantávees, cantáveis	cantavan
	preterite	cantei	cantaste, cantasche, cantache	cantou	cantamos	cantastes	cantaron
	pluperfect	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantaramos, cantáramos	cantarades, cantárades, cantáraes, cantárais, cantárees, cantáreis	cantaran
	future	cantarei	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaredes, cantarees, cantareis, cantarês	cantarán
	conditional	cantaria	cantarias	cantaria	cantariamos, cantaríamos	cantariades, cantaríades, cantaríaes, cantaríais, cantaríees, cantaríeis	cantarian
compound tenses	present perfect	present of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	past anterior	preterite of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	pluperfect anterior	simple pluperfect of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	future perfect	future of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
subjunctive mood		eu ei	tu	el~ele ela	nos nos outros nos outras	vos vos outros vos outras	eles elas
simple tenses	present	cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	cantedes, cantees, canteis, cantês	canten
	imperfect	cantasse	cantasses	cantasse	cantassemos, cantássemos	cantassedes, cantássedes, cantássees, cantásseis	cantassen
	future	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantaren
compound tenses	present perfect	present subjunctive of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
	future perfect	future subjunctive of haver or tẽer1 + past participle
imperative mood		—	tu	—	nos nos outros nos outras	vos vos outros vos outras	—
affirmative		—	canta	—	cantemos	cantade, cantae, cantai	—
negative		—	non cantes	—	non cantemos	non cantedes, non cantees, non canteis, non cantês	—
personal infinitive		eu ei	tu	el~ele ela	nos nos outros nos outras	vos vos outros vos outras	eles elas
		cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantaren
1 Haver is more common than tẽer.

Descendants

• Fala: cantal
• Galician: cantar
• Portuguese: cantar (see there for further descendants)

Old Occitan

Alternative forms

• chantar (northern)

Etymology

From Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtaɾ/, (northern) /t͡ʃan-/

Verb

cantar

1. to sing

Descendants

• Occitan: cantar, chantar

Old Spanish

Etymology

From Latin cantāre

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtaɾ/

Verb

cantar

1. to sing

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar (regular)

infinitive			simple		cantar
			compound		infinitive of aver + past participle
gerund			simple		cantando
			compound		gerund of aver + past participle
past participle					singular		plural
			masculine		cantado		cantados
			feminine		cantada		cantadas
present participle					cantante, cantant		cantantes
			singular			plural
			1st person (yo)	2nd person (tú)	3rd person (él / ella / ello)	1st person (nos / nosotros / nosotras)	2nd person (vos / vosotros / vosotras)	3rd person (ellos / ellas)
Indicative mood
simple tenses	present		canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantades, cantaes, cantáis	cantan
	imperfect		cantava	cantavas	cantava	cantávamos	cantávades	cantavan
	preterite		canté	cantaste, canteste, cantast, cantest, cantastes, cantestes	cantó	cantamos, cantemos	cantastes, cantestes	cantaron
	pluperfect		cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantáramos	cantárades	cantaran
	future		cantaré	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaredes, cantaréis, cantarés	cantarán
	conditional		cantaría, cantarié, cantaríe, cantarí	cantarías, cantariés, cantaríes	cantaría, cantarié, cantaríe, cantarí	cantaríamos, cantariemos, cantaríemos	cantaríades, cantariedes, cantaríedes	cantarían, cantarién, cantaríen
compound tenses	present perfect		present of aver + past participle
	pluperfect		imperfect of aver + past participle
	past anterior		preterite of aver + past participle
	pluperfect anterior		simple pluperfect of aver + past participle
	future perfect		future of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect		conditional of aver + past participle
Subjunctive mood
simple tenses	present		cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	cantedes, cantéis, cantés	canten
	imperfect	(sse)	cantasse, cantás	cantasses	cantasse, cantás	cantássemos	cantássedes	cantassen
		(ra)	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantáramos	cantárades	cantaran
	future		cantare, cantar, cantaro	cantares	cantare, cantar	cantáremos, cantarmos	cantáredes, cantardes	cantaren
compound tenses	present perfect		present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	(sse)	imperfect subjunctive (sse) of aver + past participle
		(ra)	imperfect subjunctive (ra) of aver + past participle
	future perfect		future subjunctive of aver + past participle
Imperative mood
affirmative			—	canta	—	cantemos	cantad	—
negative (non / no)			—	non/no cantes	—	non/no cantemos	non/no cantedes, non/no cantéis, non/no cantés	—

Descendants

• Ladino: kantar
• Spanish: cantar (see there for further descendants)

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-

Proto-Indo-European *-éti

Proto-Indo-European *kh₂néti

Proto-Italic *kanō

Latin canō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tos

Latin -tus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin -tō

Latin cantāre

Old Galician-Portuguese cantar

Portuguese cantar

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese cantar, from Latin cantāre.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈta(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈtaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈta.ɾi/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: can‧tar

Verb

cantar (first-person singular present canto, first-person singular preterite cantei, past participle cantado)

1. (intransitive) to sing (express sounds musically through the voice)

   Enquanto passeava pelo jardim, ouvi um pássaro cantar. ― While I was walking through the garden, I heard a bird sing.

2. (transitive) to sing, to say musically

   Ela cantou a sua melhor música. ― She sang her best song.

3. (transitive) to say with rhythm, chant

   Enquanto tomava minhas medidas, ele cantava baixinho para si mesmo os números. ― While taking my measures, he was chanting the numbers to himself in a soft voice.

4. (transitive, Brazil, colloquial) to attempt to seduce by flattery

   Synonym: seduzir

   As únicas coisas que ele faz o dia todo são comer, dormir, e cantar meninas. ― The only things he does all day are eat, sleep and seduce girls.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cantar
Personal	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantarem
Gerund
	cantando
Past participle
Masculine	cantado			cantados
Feminine	cantada			cantadas
Indicative
Present	canto	cantas	canta	cantamos	cantais	cantam
Imperfect	cantava	cantavas	cantava	cantávamos	cantáveis	cantavam
Preterite	cantei	cantaste	cantou	cantamos1, cantámos2	cantastes	cantaram
Pluperfect	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantáramos	cantáreis	cantaram
Future	cantarei	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantareis	cantarão
Conditional	cantaria	cantarias	cantaria	cantaríamos	cantaríeis	cantariam
Subjunctive
Present	cante	cantes	cante	cantemos	canteis	cantem
Imperfect	cantasse	cantasses	cantasse	cantássemos	cantásseis	cantassem
Future	cantar	cantares	cantar	cantarmos	cantardes	cantarem
Imperative
Affirmative		canta	cante	cantemos	cantai	cantem
Negative (não)		não cantes	não cante	não cantemos	não canteis	não cantem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Related terms

• canção
• cantada
• cantador
• cantante
• cantarolar
• cantata
• cantatriz
• cântico
• cantiga
• cantor
• cantoria

Descendants

• Guinea-Bissau Creole: kanta
• Kabuverdianu: kanta
• Papiamentu: kanta

Noun

cantar m (plural cantares)

1. singing; song (the act of using the voice to produce musical sounds; vocalizing)

   Synonym: canto

   É belíssimo, o cantar deste pássaro! ― The singing of this bird is very beautiful!

   • 1890, Aluizio Azevedo, O Cortiço, Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier:

     No confuso rumor que se formava, destacavam-se risos, sons de vozes que altercavam, sem se saber de onde, grasnar de marrecos, cantar de galos, cacarejar de galinhas.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “cantar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “cantar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romansh

Verb

cantar

1. (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) alternative form of chantar (“to sing”)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar (Sursilvan)

infinitive			cantar
gerund			cantond
past participle			cantau
	singular			plural
	1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative	jeu	ti	el/ella	nus	vus	els/ellas
present	contel	contas	conta	cantein	canteis	contan
imperfect	cantavel	cantavas	cantava	cantavan	cantavas	cantavan
future	vegnel a cantar	vegns a cantar	vegn a cantar	vegnin a cantar	vegnis a cantar	vegnan a cantar
conditional	jeu	ti	el/ella	nus	vus	els/ellas
direct present	cantass	cantasses	cantass	cantassen	cantasses	cantassen
indirect present	cantassi	cantassies	cantassi	cantassien	cantassies	cantassien
direct future	vegness a cantar	vegnesses a cantar	vegness a cantar	vegnessen a cantar	vegnesses a cantar	vegnessen a cantar
indirect future	vegnessi a cantar	vegnessies a cantar	vegnessi a cantar	vegnessien a cantar	vegnessies a cantar	vegnessien a cantar
subjunctive	che jeu	che ti	ch'el/ch'ella	che nus	che vus	ch'els/ch'ellas
present	conti	conties	conti	canteien	canteies	contien
past	cantavi	cantavies	cantavi	cantavien	cantavies	cantavien
future	vegni a cantar	vegnies a cantar	vegni a cantar	vegnîen a cantar	vegnîes a cantar	vegnien a cantar
imperative	—	ti	—	—	vus	—
		conta			cantei

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere. Cognate with English chant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kanˈtaɾ/ [kãn̪ˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: can‧tar

Verb

cantar (first-person singular present canto, first-person singular preterite canté, past participle cantado)

1. (transitive, intransitive) to sing

   Voy a cantarme una canción

   I am going to sing (myself) a song

2. (intransitive, colloquial) to stink

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cantar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			cantar
gerund			cantando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		cantado		cantada
		plural		cantados		cantadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	canto	cantastú cantásvos	canta	cantamos	cantáis	cantan
	imperfect	cantaba	cantabas	cantaba	cantábamos	cantabais	cantaban
	preterite	canté	cantaste	cantó	cantamos	cantasteis	cantaron
	future	cantaré	cantarás	cantará	cantaremos	cantaréis	cantarán
	conditional	cantaría	cantarías	cantaría	cantaríamos	cantaríais	cantarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cante	cantestú cantésvos2	cante	cantemos	cantéis	canten
	imperfect (ra)	cantara	cantaras	cantara	cantáramos	cantarais	cantaran
	imperfect (se)	cantase	cantases	cantase	cantásemos	cantaseis	cantasen
	future1	cantare	cantares	cantare	cantáremos	cantareis	cantaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		cantatú cantávos	cante	cantemos	cantad	canten
	negative		no cantes	no cante	no cantemos	no cantéis	no canten

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of cantar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive cantar	dative	cantarme	cantarte	cantarle, cantarse	cantarnos	cantaros	cantarles, cantarse
	accusative	cantarme	cantarte	cantarlo, cantarla, cantarse	cantarnos	cantaros	cantarlos, cantarlas, cantarse
with gerund cantando	dative	cantándome	cantándote	cantándole, cantándose	cantándonos	cantándoos	cantándoles, cantándose
	accusative	cantándome	cantándote	cantándolo, cantándola, cantándose	cantándonos	cantándoos	cantándolos, cantándolas, cantándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative canta	dative	cántame	cántate	cántale	cántanos	not used	cántales
	accusative	cántame	cántate	cántalo, cántala	cántanos	not used	cántalos, cántalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative cantá	dative	cantame	cantate	cantale	cantanos	not used	cantales
	accusative	cantame	cantate	cantalo, cantala	cantanos	not used	cantalos, cantalas
with formal second-person singular imperative cante	dative	cánteme	not used	cántele, cántese	cántenos	not used	cánteles
	accusative	cánteme	not used	cántelo, cántela, cántese	cántenos	not used	cántelos, cántelas
with first-person plural imperative cantemos	dative	not used	cantémoste	cantémosle	cantémonos	cantémoos	cantémosles
	accusative	not used	cantémoste	cantémoslo, cantémosla	cantémonos	cantémoos	cantémoslos, cantémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative cantad	dative	cantadme	not used	cantadle	cantadnos	cantaos	cantadles
	accusative	cantadme	not used	cantadlo, cantadla	cantadnos	cantaos	cantadlos, cantadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative canten	dative	cántenme	not used	cántenle	cántennos	not used	cántenles, cántense
	accusative	cántenme	not used	cántenlo, cántenla	cántennos	not used	cántenlos, cántenlas, cántense

Derived terms

• cantable
• cantamañanas
• cantar de plano
• cantar el gallo
• cantar la chicharra
• cantar la gala
• cantar la palinodia
• cantar la victoria
• cantar las cuarenta
• coser y cantar
• en menos que canta un gallo
• otro gallo cantaría

Related terms

• canción
• cantábile
• cantante
• cantaor
• cante
• canticio
• cántico
• cántiga, cantiga
• canto
• cantor
• cantoral
• canturrear

Descendants

• Chavacano: canta
• → Cebuano: kanta
• → Tagalog: kanta
• → Ye'kwana: ekanta'ñö, etanta'ñö

Noun

cantar m (plural cantares)

1. a type of shanty or popular song

Derived terms

• cantar de gesta (“chanson de geste”)
• Cantar de los Cantares
• ser otro cantar

Further reading

• “cantar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Anagrams

• tranca

Venetan

Etymology

From Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere. Compare Italian cantare.

Verb

cantar

1. to sing

Conjugation

* Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of cantar (first conjugation)

infinitive	cantar
auxiliary verb		aver	gerund		cantando
past participle		cantà
person	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	mi	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
present	canto	(te) canti	(el/ła) canta	cantémo, cantòn	canté	(i/łe) canta
imperfect	cantava	(te) cantavi	(el/ła) cantava	cantàvimo	cantavi	(i/łe) cantava
future	cantarò	(te) cantarè	(el/ła) cantarà	cantarémo	cantarè	(i/łe) cantarà
conditional	cantarìa	(te) cantarisi	(el/ła) cantarìa	cantarìsimo	cantarisi	(i/łe) cantarìa
subjunctive	che mi	che ti	che eło / eła	che noialtri / noialtre	che voialtri / voialtre	che łuri / łore
present	cante, canta	(te) canti	(el/ła) cante, (el/ła) canta	cantémo, cantone	canté	(i/łe) cante, (i/łe) canta
imperfect	cantase	(te) cantasi	(el/ła) cantase	cantàsimo	cantasi	(i/łe) cantase
imperative	—	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
	—	(te) canta	(el/ła) canta, (el/ła) cante	cantémo	canté	(i/łe) canta, (i/łe) cante