hablar de
/ablaɾ de/from spelling rules
To talk about in Spanish, use hablar de. Wiktionary also lists hablar sobre and hablar acerca de.
Meaning: Translations (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| hablar de | /ablaɾ de/ (from spelling rules) |
| hablar sobre | /ablaɾ sobɾe/ (from spelling rules) |
| hablar acerca de | /ablaɾ aθeɾka de/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /ablaɾ aseɾka de/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
Which one should you use?
hablar de is the most common and versatile way to say 'talk about'. hablar sobre is often used when the topic is a specific subject or a more formal lecture/presentation. hablar acerca de is more formal and slightly more wordy than using 'de'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the phrase hablar de is widely used both formally and informally.
How does it change in a sentence?
The preposition 'de' is required after the verb 'hablar' to indicate the subject being discussed.
How do you pronounce it?
/ablaɾ de/
Did you know?
- While hablar de is the standard for 'talk about', Spanish speakers often use the verb tratar to say a book or movie 'talks about' or 'deals with' a theme.
- While sobre is used to mean 'about', its literal and primary meaning in Spanish is 'above' or 'over'.
- The formal phrase hablar acerca de is built from the Latin roots 'ad' and 'circa', which literally means 'towards around'.
Examples in context
- Quiero hablar de Tom.I want to talk about Tom.Tatoeba #2033175 by Shishir, translation #2033156 by CK
- No voy a hablar de eso.I'm not going to talk about that.Tatoeba #3177405 by marcelostockle, translation #2540912 by CK
- No puedo hablar de esto.I can't talk about this.Tatoeba #8636951 by pcarolina, translation #4979562 by CK
- Podemos hablar sobre el proyecto en nuestra próxima reunión.We can talk about the project in our next meeting.
- Es importante conversar acerca de los desafíos que enfrentamos como equipo.It's important to talk about the challenges we face as a team.
- Necesitamos discutir los detalles del plan antes de proceder.We need to discuss the details of the plan before moving forward.
- Vamos a charlar sobre nuestras vacaciones en la playa.Let's talk about our beach vacation.
- ¿De qué quieres hablar?What do you want to talk about?
- Vamos a platicar sobre la última película que vimos.Let's talk about the latest movie we watched.
- 137 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are discussing their weekend plans.
- DanielNecesitamos hablar de las vacaciones.We need to talk about the vacation.
- LucíaSí, ¿a dónde quieres ir, Daniel?Yes, where do you want to go, Daniel?
- DanielQuiero hablar de ir a la playa.I want to talk about going to the beach.
- LucíaMe parece una idea excelente, Lucía acepta.It seems like an excellent idea, Lucía agrees.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “talk about” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries acerca, de, hablar, sobre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
