In short – ‘conste’ is an EXTREMELY common Mexican expression that’s used as a kind of verbal warning. It’s actually a shortened version of the phrase ‘que conste que’, which loosely translates as ‘let it be known that’.
‘Conste’ is a conjugation of ‘constar’ (literally, ‘to be known (for a fact)’ or ‘to be sure’) in the subjunctive mood, but as an expression it’s mostly used to pressure someone into fulfilling a promise, kinda like the English phrase ‘I’ll hold you to that’.
Ready to find out how to use it like a true native speaker?
Uses / Meanings of ‘conste’
‘Conste’ can be used in the following ways –
- As a synonym of ‘I’ll hold you to that’
- As a warning or threat, akin to ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you’ or ‘you’ll regret it’
- As a synonym of ‘for the record’ (‘conste que’)
As a synonym of ‘I’ll hold you to that’
If you promise your Mexican friend that you’ll take them to the movies and they answer with a ‘¡conste!’, just know that they’ll hold you to it!
En una reunión de amigos
Iliana – Si me dan el aumento en la chamba*, los llevo de fin de semana a Valle de Bravo.
Aldo – ¡Conste!
At a friend’s reunion
Iliana – If they give me a raise at work, I’ll take you all to Valle de Bravo for the weekend.
Aldo – I’ll hold you to that!
*Erika’s top tip – if you really wanna sound Mexican, then make sure to use the word ‘chamba’ instead of ‘job’ or ‘work’.
As a warning or threat, akin to ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you’ or ‘you’ll regret it’
If, on the contrary, you’re getting on your pal’s nerves (uh-uh!), they may well unleash a rather stern ‘conste’. This basically means that there are gonna be consequences if you continue to do whatever it is that you’re doing!
Depending on intonation the warning might be playful or dead serious.
En la comida, alguien se pone a masticar ruidosamente
Liam – ¿Qué estás haciendo? Sabes que Lori no soporta que mastiquen fuerte.
Julián – Lo sé.
Lori – Conste.
Someone starts to chew loudly at lunch
Liam – What are you doing? You know Lori can’t stand the sound of loud chewing.
Julian – I know.
Lori – Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
As a synonym of ‘for the record’
As I mentioned before, ‘conste’ is actually a shortened version of ‘que conste que’, which literally translates as ‘let it be known that’, or ‘let it be noted that’.
If the action / misdemeanour in question is explicit, a lone ‘conste’ will normally suffice, but if you need to add extra info, you’re going to need to use the structure ‘conste que’ (or even a full-blown ‘que conste que’!).
It normally translates well to ‘for the record’.
Dos hermanos en la carretera
Emanuel – Creo que estamos perdidos…
Fany – Conste que yo te advertí que no era por este camino.
Two siblings on the highway
Emanuel – I think we’re lost …
Fany – For the record, I warned you that this wasn’t the right way.
‘Conste‘ pronunciation
‘Conste’ has two syllables:
- ‘Cons’ sounds like ‘kohns’
- And ‘te’ is said like ‘teh’
/ kohns-teh /
Similar expressions to ‘conste’
Me consta
The phrase ‘constarle a alguien’ translates as ‘to be sure’ or ‘to be certain’.
It actually works just like the verb ‘gustar’, so that indirect object pronoun at the beginning (i.e., ‘me’) corresponds to the person who is “sure” and ‘consta’ agrees in number with the concept or idea in question.
In a nutshell, ‘me consta’ translates to ‘I’m sure’ or ‘I´m certain’, so it might be easier to just learn it as a “chunk”.
Just make sure you DON’T say ‘yo consto’ as it means something along the lines of ‘I put on record’ and is normally just legal jargon.
Neto – ¿A poco crees en los rumores de que Toño y Pamela cortaron?
Lore – ¡No son rumores! Me consta.
Neto – Don’t tell me you believe those rumors about Toño and Pamela breaking up?
Lore – They’re not just rumors! I know it for a fact.
Te consta
Another useful Spanish “chunk” is ‘¿Te consta?’ which means ‘Are you sure?’ –
¿Por qué dices que mi primo hizo trampa en el examen? ¿Te consta?
Why do you say that my cousin cheated on the test? Are you sure?
Conste, ¿eh?
Don’t be surprised if your Mexican pal throws in an ‘¿eh?’ (or ‘huh? in English) after ‘conste’.
Sometimes the little things will make you sound more native!
Pablo – Ya no voy a llegar tarde, en serio.
Vic – Conste, ¿eh? Si no llegas a tiempo, me voy sin ti.
Pablo – I’m not gonna be late anymore, honestly.
Vic – You better not! If you don’t arrive on time, I’m leaving without you.
Para que conste
If you preface a statement with ‘para que conste’, you’re just saying ‘for the record’ (so it’s very similar in meaning to ‘conste que’).
Comienza a llover en pleno picnic familiar
Para que conste, yo les dije que no era buena idea hacer picnic en julio.
It starts to rain during the family picnic
For the record, I told you all that it wasn’t a good idea to have a picnic in July.
Final thoughts
Hopefully you’ll now feel confident enough to start using ‘conste’ in everyday conversations. It’ll definitely make you sound more fluent, and your friends are sure to be taken aback by your mastery of colloquial Spanish!
Let’s see if you’re ready for the next challenge: the meaning of ‘nomás’.
Spoiler alert: It DOESN’T translate to ‘no more’ …
¡Hasta pronto!
