How do you say "understand" in Italian?

capire

Verb Noun

In Italian, "understand" is capire.

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Capire is kah-PEE-reh, stress on the second syllable, short and simple with a clean long EE sound in the middle.

Grammar notes

capire is a verb used the same way as its English equivalent.

Example sentence

Ora capisco la lezione.

I understand the lesson now.

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How to remember capire

When you finally get the capital point of something, you capire it - 'capi' echoes 'capital'.

Related words

Browse all Italian words in the glossary.

Questions about capire

How do you pronounce capire?

Capire is kah-PEE-reh, stress on the second syllable, short and simple with a clean long EE sound in the middle.

Is capire formal or casual?

capire is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is capire used in Italian?

capire is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: Ora capisco la lezione. (I understand the lesson now.).

Where can I practice Italian words for free?

You can play free Italian minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Italian glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Understand" in other languages

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