Capire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

capire — to understand — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -ire verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to understand something and to understand a person, and it is an -isc- verb: the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative insert -isc- in the singular and third-person plural, so the io form is capisco. The rest of the conjugation is regular. On this page you will find capire in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the capire conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the capire passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with capire

In the present tense

  • “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I understand the lesson”
  • “Tu capisci la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You understand the lesson”
  • “Lui capisce la lezione ogni giorno.” — “He understands the lesson”
  • “Noi capiamo la lezione ogni giorno.” — “We understand the lesson”
  • “Voi capite la lezione ogni giorno.” — “You understand the lesson”
  • “Loro capiscono la lezione ogni giorno.” — “They understand the lesson”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “I have understood the lesson”
  • “Tu hai capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “You have understood the lesson”
  • “Lui ha capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “He has understood the lesson”
  • “Noi abbiamo capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “We have understood the lesson”
  • “Voi avete capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “You have understood the lesson”
  • “Loro hanno capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “They have understood the lesson”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io capivo la lezione una volta.” — “I used to understand the lesson”
  • “Tu capirai la lezione domani.” — “You will understand the lesson”
  • “Lui capirebbe la lezione un giorno.” — “He would understand the lesson”
  • “È importante che noi capiamo la lezione.” — “It is important that we understand the lesson”
  • “Capisci la lezione!” — “Understand the lesson!”

How capire is used

The first thing to know about capire is its core meaning: to understand. It means to understand something and to understand a person, and it is an -isc- verb: the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative insert -isc- in the singular and third-person plural, so the io form is capisco. The rest of the conjugation is regular. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company capire keeps. The present io form is capisco, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho capito, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what capire does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need capisco, never capire. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho capito, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle capito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Capire in context

Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno. Tu capisci la lezione ogni giorno. Lui capisce la lezione ogni giorno. Noi capiamo la lezione ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of capire is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — capisco, capisci, capisce, capiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to understand. Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana. Tu hai capito la lezione questa settimana. Lui ha capito la lezione questa settimana. Noi abbiamo capito la lezione questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of capire appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to understand — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io capire la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.”

The infinitive capire never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form capisco.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io capisci la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.”

capisci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is capisco — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io capisco la lezione ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho capito here, not the present capisco.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono capito la lezione.”

✓ Right: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.”

capire takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho capito — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on capire across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of capire in the Present indicative?

    • A) capisco
    • B) capisci
    • C) capisce
    • D) capiamo

  2. What is the io form of capire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai capito
    • B) ha capito
    • C) ho capito
    • D) abbiamo capito

  3. What is the lui/lei form of capire in the Imperfect?

    • A) capivo
    • B) capivi
    • C) capivamo
    • D) capiva

  4. What is the noi form of capire in the Future?

    • A) capiremo
    • B) capirò
    • C) capirai
    • D) capirà

  5. What is the tu form of capire in the Conditional?

    • A) capirei
    • B) capiresti
    • C) capirebbe
    • D) capiremmo

  6. What is the io form of capire in the Passato remoto?

    • A) capisti
    • B) capì
    • C) capii
    • D) capimmo

  7. What is the noi form of capire in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) capisca
    • B) capiate
    • C) capiscano
    • D) capiamo

  8. What is the gerund of capire?

    • A) capendo
    • B) capito
    • C) capire
    • D) capisco

  9. What is the past participle of capire?

    • A) capendo
    • B) capito
    • C) capire
    • D) capisco

  10. What does capire mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to understand
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) capisci — the correct form is capisci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho capito — the correct form is ho capito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) capiva — the correct form is capiva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) capiremo — the correct form is capiremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) capiresti — the correct form is capiresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) capii — the correct form is capii. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) capiamo — the correct form is capiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) capendo — the correct form is capendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) capito — the correct form is capito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to understand — the correct form is to understand. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does capire mean in English?

capire means “to understand”. You use it whenever you talk about to understand in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is capire regular or irregular?

capire is regular. capire is regular: every form follows the standard -ire endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of capire?

The gerund is capendo and the past participle is capito. The perfect tenses use avere + capito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of capire?

On the capire conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The capire passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for capire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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