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"to fall" in seven languages

Meaningto fall

Spanish

caer

/kaˈeɾ/

inherited

Often caerse: me caí 'I fell over'.

French

tomber

/tɔ̃be/

other source · Old French tumber, of uncertain origin

The inherited verb, choir, is now literary; its old participle lives on in chute 'a fall'.

Italian

cadere

/kaˈdere/

inherited

Portuguese

cair

/kaˈih/

inherited

Portuguese dropped the -D- between vowels: CADERE → cair.

Romanian

cădea

/kəˈde̯a/

inherited

Catalan

caure

/ˈkawɾə/

inherited

English

fall

/fɔl/

native English · Old English feallan

English → Italianto fallcadereNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cadence, case, accident, decay, chance.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CADERE‘to fall’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Spanish dropped the d of CADERE (caer); Italian kept it (cadere). French lost its own descendant, choir, to tomber.

English relatives: cadence, case, accident, decay, chance

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¡Cuidado, que te vas a caer!
  • frAttention, tu vas tomber !
  • itAttento, che cadi!
  • ptCuidado, você vai cair!
  • roAtenție, o să cazi!
  • caCompte, que cauràs!
  • enCareful, you'll fall!

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words