Capire Conjugation in Italian
capire means “to understand” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 80 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of capire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I understand the lesson.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: capire
- English: to understand
- Verb type: Regular -ire verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: capendo
- Present participle: capente
- Past participle: capito
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ire verbs; pattern ireIsc in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read capire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about capire
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -ire pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions. 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 perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle capito. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are capente and capito: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for capire. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capisco |
| tu | capisci |
| lui/lei | capisce |
| noi | capiamo |
| voi | capite |
| loro | capiscono |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I understand the lesson”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capii |
| tu | capisti |
| lui/lei | capì |
| noi | capimmo |
| voi | capiste |
| loro | capirono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io capii la lezione ieri.” — “I understood the lesson”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capivo |
| tu | capivi |
| lui/lei | capiva |
| noi | capivamo |
| voi | capivate |
| loro | capivano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io capivo la lezione una volta.” — “I used to understand the lesson”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capirò |
| tu | capirai |
| lui/lei | capirà |
| noi | capiremo |
| voi | capirete |
| loro | capiranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io capirò la lezione domani.” — “I will understand the lesson”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capirei |
| tu | capiresti |
| lui/lei | capirebbe |
| noi | capiremmo |
| voi | capireste |
| loro | capirebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io capirei la lezione un giorno.” — “I would understand the lesson”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho capito |
| tu | hai capito |
| lui/lei | ha capito |
| noi | abbiamo capito |
| voi | avete capito |
| loro | hanno capito |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “He has understood the lesson”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo capito |
| tu | avevi capito |
| lui/lei | aveva capito |
| noi | avevamo capito |
| voi | avevate capito |
| loro | avevano capito |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo capito la lezione prima della festa.” — “I had understood the lesson”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò capito |
| tu | avrai capito |
| lui/lei | avrà capito |
| noi | avremo capito |
| voi | avrete capito |
| loro | avranno capito |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò capito la lezione per domani.” — “I will have understood the lesson”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei capito |
| tu | avresti capito |
| lui/lei | avrebbe capito |
| noi | avremmo capito |
| voi | avreste capito |
| loro | avrebbero capito |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei capito la lezione ieri.” — “I would have understood the lesson”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capisca |
| tu | capisca |
| lui/lei | capisca |
| noi | capiamo |
| voi | capiate |
| loro | capiscano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io capisca la lezione.” — “It is important that I understand the lesson”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | capissi |
| tu | capissi |
| lui/lei | capisse |
| noi | capissimo |
| voi | capiste |
| loro | capissero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io capissi la lezione.” — “It was important that I understand the lesson”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | capisci |
| lui/lei | capisca |
| noi | capiamo |
| voi | capite |
| loro | capiscano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Capisci la lezione!” — “Understand the lesson!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | capire |
| lui/lei | capisca |
| noi | capiamo |
| voi | capiate |
| loro | capiscano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non capire la lezione.” — “Do not understand the lesson.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | capendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Capendo la lezione, imparo molto.” — “While understanding the lesson, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | capente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle capente is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | capito |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “I have understood the lesson.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with capire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I understand the lesson”
- “Tu capisti la lezione ieri.” — “You understood the lesson”
- “Lui capiva la lezione una volta.” — “He used to understand the lesson”
- “Io capirò la lezione domani.” — “I will understand the lesson”
- “Tu capiresti la lezione un giorno.” — “You would understand the lesson”
- “Lui ha capito la lezione questa settimana.” — “He has understood the lesson”
- “Io avevo capito la lezione prima della festa.” — “I had understood the lesson”
- “Tu avrai capito la lezione per domani.” — “You will have understood the lesson”
- “È importante che io capisca la lezione.” — “It is important that I understand the lesson”
- “Capisci la lezione!” — “Understand the lesson!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io capisci la lezione.”
✓ Right: “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.”
capisci is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with capisco.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io capisco la lezione ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho capito for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono capito la lezione.”
✓ Right: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of capire is formed with avere plus the past participle capito: the io form is ho capito. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io capisco la lezione.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io capisca la lezione.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use capisca here, not the indicative capisco.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho capendo la lezione.”
✓ Right: “Io ho capito la lezione questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle capito, not the gerund capendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on capire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of capire in the Present indicative?
- A) capisci
- B) capisco
- C) capisce
- D) capiamo
What is the lui/lei form of capire in the Passato remoto?
- A) capii
- B) capisti
- C) capì
- D) capimmo
What is the noi form of capire in the Imperfect?
- A) capivo
- B) capivi
- C) capiva
- D) capivamo
What is the tu form of capire in the Future?
- A) capirai
- B) capirò
- C) capirà
- D) capiremo
What is the io form of capire in the Conditional?
- A) capiresti
- B) capirei
- C) capirebbe
- D) capiremmo
What is the lui/lei form of capire in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho capito
- B) hai capito
- C) ha capito
- D) abbiamo capito
What is the lui/lei form of capire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) capiamo
- B) capiate
- C) capiscano
- D) capisca
What is the io form of capire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) capissi
- B) capisse
- C) capissimo
- D) capiste
What is the gerund of capire?
- A) capito
- B) capendo
- C) capire
- D) capisco
What does capire mean in English?
- A) to sit down
- B) to get dressed
- C) to understand
- D) to call
Answer key
- B) capisco — the correct form is capisco. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) capì — the correct form is capì. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) capivamo — the correct form is capivamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) capirai — the correct form is capirai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) capirei — the correct form is capirei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha capito — the correct form is ha capito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) capisca — the correct form is capisca. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) capissi — the correct form is capissi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) capendo — the correct form is capendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is capire regular or irregular?
capire is regular: it follows the ordinary -ire pattern in every tense. The gerund is capendo and the past participle is capito.
What are the gerund and past participle of capire?
The gerund is capendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is capito — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho capito.
Which auxiliary does capire take in the passato prossimo?
capire takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho capito. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle capito.
How do I say “I understand” in Italian?
Say “Io capisco la lezione ogni giorno.” — “I understand the lesson” The io form of the present is capisco, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of capire — every tense of capire in one place.
- Capire in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Capire examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Vestirsi conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Seguire conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise capire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise capire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise capire with the interactive tool.