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caer bien. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
caer bien, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
caer bien in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
caer bien you have here. The definition of the word
caer bien will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
caer bien, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Spanish
Etymology
Compare Catalan caure bé.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaˌeɾ ˈbjen/
- Syllabification: ca‧er bien
Verb
caer bien (first-person singular present caigo bien, first-person singular preterite caí bien, past participle caído bien)
- (transitive, idiomatic) to please, be nice, make a good impression (a person)
- Synonyms: agradar, simpatizar
- Antonyms: caer mal, caer gordo, caer pesado
Gerardo siempre ha caído bien- Gerardo always has been nice (to people)
No les caigo bien a tus padres- I don't please your parents
- (transitive, idiomatic) to promote or make for good or proper digestion (food)
- Synonym: hacer buen provecho
- Antonyms: caer mal, caer de peso
Tu caldo me cayó muy bien- Your broth resulted in a good digestion for me
- (transitive, idiomatic) to make happy, make laugh, satisfy, please (news, advice, announcement)
- Synonym: agradar
- Antonyms: caer mal, caer de peso
La noticia no le cayó bien al jefe, y está de mal humor- The news didn't make the boss happy, and he's in a bad mood
Usage notes
Caer bien and caer mal can be used to show whether a person likes or dislikes another person. In this sense, caer bien is used like gustar, but in a friendship way, with the person being liked as the subject of the sentence instead of the object. Therefore, the verb is conjugated to reflect the subject.
Me cae bien tu amiga.- I like your friend.
- ("Tu amiga" is the subject, so the verb is conjugated in the third person and not the first person.)
Me caen bien tus amigas.- I like your friends.
- ("Tus amigas" is the subject, so the verb must be plural.)
A Juan le cae bien mi amigo.- John likes my friend.
- The prepositional phrase a Juan is used because it is not possible to write Juan cae bien mi amigo. Whenever a person's name is used instead of a personal pronoun, the person's name must be preceded by the preposition a. A redundant pronoun such as le is also needed. This sentence can also be written as Mi amigo le cae bien a Juan.
See also
Further reading