Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| historia | /isˈtoɾja/ | feminine |
| relato | /reˈlato/ | masculine |
| cuento | /ˈkwento/ | masculine |
| crónica | /ˈkɾonika/ | feminine |
| fábula | /ˈfabula/ | feminine |
Spanish uses different terms to distinguish between a factual account, a piece of fiction or a specific type of narrative. You might use anécdota to refer to a short, often humorous, anecdote.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on the literary or narrative nature of the content. Cuento specifically refers to a short story or a fictional tale, making it more narrow than the general historia. In a literary context, fábula is used specifically for stories that feature animals or personified objects to teach a moral lesson. For a detailed or formal account of events, relato is the appropriate term.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the word trama is commonly used to refer to the plot or storyline of a story.
How does it change in a sentence?
The various forms of 'story' carry different grammatical genders: relato and cuento are masculine, while crónica, historia and fábula are feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/isˈtoɾja/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use historia to mean both 'history' and 'story' interchangeably. However, in Spanish, historia covers both meanings, whereas cuento is strictly reserved for fiction and tales.
Did you know?
- The word cuento shares a root with the English word 'compute'. It comes from the Latin computus, which originally meant a calculation or an account of numbers.
- While cuento means 'story', the phrase no me vengas con cuentos literally tells someone 'do not come to me with stories', meaning 'do not lie to me'.
- The word trama is used to describe the 'plot' of a story, but in other contexts, it can also refer to a 'web' or 'mesh', such as a spider's web.
Examples in context
- Leí un cuento ayer.I read a story yesterday.This sentence shows how to use cuento to express reading a story.Tatoeba #13443980 by ecorralest101, translation #13443976 by ecorralest101
- Yo creo tu historia.I believe your story.This sentence demonstrates the use of historia when expressing belief in a story.Tatoeba #2314669 by marcelostockle, translation #2294009 by CK
- Es una historia real.It's a true story.This sentence illustrates how to describe a story as being real using historia.Tatoeba #2217194 by marcelostockle, translation #2217148 by Hybrid
- Este informe contiene una historia detallada sobre el desarrollo de nuestra empresaThis report contains a detailed story of our company's development.
- La conferencista ofrecerá una narración fascinante sobre sus experiencias de viajeThe speaker will provide a fascinating narrative of her travel experiences.
- Anoche escuché un relato apasionante de la vida de nuestro vecinoLast night I heard an exciting story about our neighbor's life.
- Marta nos contó una anécdota divertida sobre sus vacaciones en la playaMarta told us a funny anecdote about her beach vacation.
- 460 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are chatting about a book.
- ElenaMe encanta la historia de este libro.I love the story of this book.
- AlejandroSí, es una historia muy triste.Yes, it is a very sad story.
- Elena¿Te gusta el final de la historia?Do you like the end of the story?
- AlejandroNo, prefiero una historia más alegre.No, I prefer a happier story.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “story” translations and entries historia, relato, cuento, crónica, fábula, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries crónica, cuento, historia, relato, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
