| Literal translation | To happen at bean |
| Meaning | Happening at the perfect moment |
| IPA pronunciation | /kapiˈtaːɾe a faˈdʒɔːlo/ |
Capitare a fagiolo
To happen at the perfect time
Cascare a fagiolo.
To happen at the perfect time.
Literally: To fall at bean.
For example, you can say…
Capiti proprio a fagiolo: abbiamo giusto bisogno di te.
You come at the perfect time: we just happen to need you.
Elisa è cascata dalla bicicletta.
Elisa fell off her bicycle.
Capitare a fagiolo: Origins
This idiom has another popular version, cascare a fagiolo, which has the same meaning but is literally translated as “to fall at bean”, with cascare meaning “to fall”.
People who lived in Florence around 1500 loved beans and used them to celebrate happy events. Others say that this idiom comes from the bean plant itself (pianta di fagioli): ripe beans easily fall off the plant, so a falling bean is a metaphor for something that we easily get.
➡️ Related lessons
- Capitare (to happen)
- Cascare (to fall)
- Fagiolo (bean)
- A (preposition)
- Prepositions
- All Italian expressions
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