The Italian Verb to Fall or Cadere

In the video below I show an example of the Italian verb to fall or cadere.

When learning Italian, one of the most useful verbs to know is cadere, which means “to fall.” Whether you are talking about falling down, falling asleep, falling in love, or even a holiday falling on a certain date, cadere appears in many everyday Italian expressions.

Let’s explore how to use this important Italian verb!

What Does Cadere Mean?

The basic meaning of cadere is:

Cadere = To fall

Examples:

• Il bambino cade.
The child (masculine) falls.

• Sono caduto dalle scale.
I fell down the stairs.
This would be used by a masculine speaker

• La foglia cade dall’albero.
The leaf falls from the tree.

• La pioggia cade dal cielo.
The rain falls from the sky.

Present Tense of Cadere

Cadere is an irregular -ere verb. Here is how it is conjugated in the present tense:

Examples:

• Attento! Cadi!
Be careful! You are falling!
• I bambini cadono spesso.
Children fall often.
• Cado sempre quando corro troppo veloce.
I always fall when I run too fast.

The Past Tense: Sono Caduto

Because cadere describes movement, it uses the auxiliary verb essere in the past tense.

Examples from the video above:

• La donna è caduta dal toro.
The woman fell off the bull

• L’uomo è caduto dal toro.
The man fell off the bull

Notice how the ending of the word changes depending on masculine versus feminine.

• Siamo caduti dalla bicicletta.
We fell off the bicycle.

Remember that when using essere, the past participle caduto/caduta/caduti/cadute changes to match the speaker’s gender and number.  Learn more about the Italian verb essere (to be).

To Fall in Present Tense

In the video above:
The snowflakes are falling.
I fiocchi di neve stanno cadendo.

Future Tense Example

The woman will fall off the bull.
La donna cadrà dal toro.

Common Italian Expressions with Cadere

1. Cadere in amore – To fall in love

• Mi sono innamorato di Roma.
I fell in love with Rome.

Cultural Nuance: Italians more commonly use the verb innamorarsi rather than cadere in amore.

2. Cadere nel tranello – To fall into a trap
• Non cadere nel tranello!
Don’t fall into the trap!

3. Cadere dalle nuvole – To be completely surprised or unaware
• Quando gli ho dato la notizia, è caduto dalle nuvole.
When I told him the news, he was completely surprised.

4. Cadere a pezzi – To fall apart
• Questa vecchia casa cade a pezzi.
This old house is falling apart.

Why Learn Cadere?

The verb cadere is a small but powerful word in Italian. It appears in everyday conversations, news reports, stories, and many colorful idiomatic expressions. By learning its present and past forms, you will be able to describe accidents, surprises, emotions, and much more.

The next time you hear an Italian say “Attenzione, stai per cadere!” you’ll know exactly what it means:

“Careful, you’re about to fall!”

Buono studio e buona fortuna con il tuo italiano!

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