Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos. - My friends talk to each other by video call on Sundays.

Mis amigos hablan por videollamada.
= My friends talk by video call (they might be talking to other people, not necessarily to each other).
Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada.
= My friends talk to each other by video call.

In Spanish, when two or more people do something to one another, you often use se with a plural verb:

Se ven todos los días. – They see each other every day.
Se escriben emails. – They write emails to each other.

So se here doesn’t mean “themselves”; it marks a mutual / each other relationship with a plural subject.

Could se hablan mean “they talk to themselves”?

Not by itself. For “they talk to themselves,” Spanish normally clarifies it with a sí mismos / a sí mismas:

Se hablan a sí mismos. – They talk to themselves.
Se habla a sí mismo. – He talks to himself.

Without that a sí mismos, when the subject is plural (mis amigos), se hablan is understood as they talk to each other. Context plus the plural subject almost always makes the reciprocal reading the default.

Is it wrong to say “Mis amigos hablan por videollamada los domingos” without se?

It’s not wrong, but it’s a bit less specific.

Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.
Focus: they talk to each other every Sunday.
Mis amigos hablan por videollamada los domingos.
Focus: my friends talk by video call on Sundays; it could be to each other, but it could also be to different people, and the sentence doesn’t highlight the “each other” idea.

In everyday conversation, context often makes it clear, so both can be used. Adding se just makes the “each other” idea explicit.

Why is it se hablan and not hablan se?

In Spanish, unstressed object pronouns like me, te, se, nos, os, lo, la, le, etc. normally go before a conjugated verb:

Se hablan. – They talk to each other.
Nos vemos. – We see each other.
Te llamo mañana. – I’ll call you tomorrow.

You only attach the pronoun after the verb when it’s:

An infinitive:
- van a hablarse – they’re going to talk to each other
A gerund:
- están hablándose – they are talking to each other
An affirmative command:
- Habla conmigo. – Talk to me.
- Háblame. – Talk to me.

With a normal, conjugated present tense like hablan, the pronoun must come before: se hablan, never hablan se.

Why is it por videollamada and not en videollamada?

Here por expresses the means or medium by which they communicate. Spanish regularly uses por for communication channels:

por teléfono – by phone
por WhatsApp – by WhatsApp
por email – by email
por videollamada – by video call

En videollamada can appear in some contexts, but it sounds more like “while being on a video call” or describing the situation, not simply the medium:

Nos conocimos en una videollamada. – We met in a video call. (context/situation)
Hablamos por videollamada. – We talk by video call. (means/medium)

In your sentence, we’re focusing on how they talk (the medium), so por is the natural choice.

Why is videollamada singular if this happens every Sunday?

Spanish often uses the singular after por when talking about means of communication or transport, even if it happens repeatedly:

Voy al trabajo por autobús. – I go to work by bus.
Te mando cosas por email. – I send you things by email.
Hablamos por teléfono. – We talk by phone.

So:

Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.

means they regularly use video call as a medium on Sundays. The repetition is already shown by los domingos, so the noun can stay singular. Plural (por videollamadas) is possible but sounds less usual in this type of structure.

Why do we say los domingos and not just domingos or el domingo?

With days of the week, Spanish uses the definite article to talk about regular, repeated events:

El domingo – on Sunday (one specific Sunday, or “this/that Sunday”).
Los domingos – on Sundays / every Sunday (habitual).

Compare:

Voy al cine el domingo. – I’m going to the cinema on Sunday (this one).
Voy al cine los domingos. – I go to the cinema on Sundays (as a habit).

So los domingos means every Sunday / on Sundays.
Saying just domingos without an article is not standard here.

Can I say “en los domingos” like in English “on Sundays”?

No. In Spanish you normally don’t use en with days of the week to say “on”:

El lunes – on Monday
Los lunes – on Mondays
El domingo – on Sunday
Los domingos – on Sundays

So:

✅ Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.
❌ Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada en los domingos.

The idea “on” is already included in the structure el / los + día de la semana, so en is not needed.

Could we move los domingos to another place in the sentence?

Yes. Word order is flexible, as long as the structure stays clear. All of these are correct and natural:

Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.
Mis amigos los domingos se hablan por videollamada.
Los domingos, mis amigos se hablan por videollamada.

The most neutral and common in everyday speech is probably the original:

Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.

Putting Los domingos at the start (with a comma) adds a little emphasis to the time: it foregrounds Sundays.

Why is it mis amigos and not los mis amigos?

In Spanish, you don’t combine a possessive adjective (mi, mis, tu, sus…) with a definite article in front of the same noun:

✅ mis amigos – my friends
❌ los mis amigos

So you say:

mi casa – my house (not la mi casa)
tu coche – your car (not el tu coche)
mis amigos – my friends (not los mis amigos)

There are some rare, poetic or dialectal exceptions, but in standard modern Spanish (especially in Spain), for everyday speech, you simply use mis amigos.

Why is the verb hablan (plural) and not habla?

Because the subject mis amigos is third person plural (“they”). In Spanish, the verb must agree in number and person with the subject:

Mi amigo se habla por videollamada con su familia. – My friend talks by video call with his family. → habla (he/she)
Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada. – My friends talk to each other by video call. → hablan (they)

The pronoun se does not change the verb ending; the subject does.

Why don’t we say Ellos in the sentence, like “Ellos se hablan por videollamada los domingos”?

Spanish often omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos) because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is:

Hablo – I speak (so “yo” is clear)
Hablamos – we speak
Hablan – they speak

So:

Mis amigos se hablan por videollamada los domingos.

is perfectly clear without ellos, because mis amigos is the subject.

If you add Ellos, it can sound:

Redundant in a neutral context.
Or emphatic, contrasting with someone else:
- Ellos se hablan por videollamada, pero nosotros preferimos escribir.
  – They talk by video call, but we prefer to write.

What’s the difference between se hablan por videollamada and se llaman por videollamada?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

Se hablan por videollamada.
Emphasis: they talk to each other by video call (the whole conversation).
Se llaman por videollamada.
Emphasis: they call each other by video call (the act of initiating the call).
Often understood as “they video-call each other”.

In many real contexts in Spain you could hear either, depending on whether the speaker focuses on the conversation (hablar) or the act of calling (llamar).

Your original sentence highlights that they spend time talking to each other on Sundays by video call.