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ITALIAN VERB

capire

to understand

  • #26 most used
  • Regular -ire verb
  • Past participle: capito
  • Gerund: capendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I understand
  2. tu you understand
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she understands
  4. noi we understand
  5. voi you all understand
  6. loro they understand

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I understood
  2. tu you understood
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she understood
  4. noi we understood
  5. voi you all understood
  6. loro they understood

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to understand
  2. tu you used to understand
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to understand
  4. noi we used to understand
  5. voi you all used to understand
  6. loro they used to understand

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will understand
  2. tu you will understand
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will understand
  4. noi we will understand
  5. voi you all will understand
  6. loro they will understand

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would understand
  2. tu you would understand
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would understand
  4. noi we would understand
  5. voi you all would understand
  6. loro they would understand

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I understand
  2. tu (that) you understand
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she understand
  4. noi (that) we understand
  5. voi (that) you all understand
  6. loro (that) they understand

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu understand!
  2. Lei understand! (formal)
  3. noi understand! (let’s)
  4. voi understand! (all of you)

How to use capire

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Scusa, non capisco, puoi ripetere?

    Sorry, I don't understand, can you repeat?

  2. Past

    Ho capito tutto, grazie mille.

    I understood everything, thanks a lot.

  3. Imperfect

    All'inizio non capivo una parola di italiano.

    At first I didn't understand a word of Italian.

  4. Future

    Vedrai, con il tempo capirai tutto.

    You'll see, with time you'll understand everything.

  5. Conditional

    Capirei meglio se parlassi più piano.

    I'd understand better if you spoke more slowly.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non sono sicura che capiscano il problema.

    I'm not sure they understand the problem.

  7. Imperative

    Capiscimi, non potevo fare altrimenti.

    Understand me, I couldn't do otherwise.

Good to know

  • Capire takes -isc- in the singular and in loro: capisco, capisci, capisce, capiscono.
  • Ho capito! is the everyday "got it".

Where you hear capire

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Capisco un po' di italiano. I understand a little Italian.
  • Non ho capito la signora Ada. I didn't understand Signora Ada.
  • Domani capisci tutto. Tomorrow you'll understand everything.

Italian · Intermediate Level 1

  • Capisco un po' di italiano. I understand a little Italian.
  • Non ho capito la signora Ada. I didn't understand Signora Ada.
  • Domani capisci tutto. Tomorrow you'll understand everything.
4
I Don't Understand

Beginner Level 1 · Non capisco. · Capisci?

Needs a subscription 5
Salvo's Sicilian Words

Intermediate Level 1 · Non ho capito.

Needs a subscription 12
A Letter from the Bank

Intermediate Level 1 · Non avevo capito. · Ho chiamato. Non avevano capito. Tutto a posto.

Needs a subscription 11
Franco's Numbers

Intermediate Level 3 · Capisco. Ma non sono solo numeri.

Needs a subscription 24
The Arrival

Intermediate Level 3 · Capivo poco.

Needs a subscription 1
The Notary Explains

Advanced Level 1 · Capisco. Allora cerco tutti gli eredi.

Free 13
The Surveyor's Report

Advanced Level 1 · Capisco. Mi manda la relazione scritta?

Needs a subscription 18
The Notary on the Phone

Advanced Level 1 · Capisco. La chiamo io appena arriva.

Needs a subscription 15
The Road Reopens

Advanced Level 2 · Lo capiranno. Intanto, rivediamo il sole!

Needs a subscription 17
Why It's Funny

Fluency Level 1 · Ah, l'insetto! Adesso ho capito.

Needs a subscription 17
The Chapter Nonna Refuses

Fluency Level 2 · Ho capito. Lo tolgo.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ire verb.