Learn 3 Italian idioms with the word "fagiolo"

Hello there, I am Luca and this video is aimed at those amazing people who are learning Italian.

If you want to speak fluent Italian, please keep watching because in this video I am going to explain 3 epic phrases used by Italian native speakers. More specifically, in this video I wanted to talk about 3 idioms with the word "fagiolo".

You probably, or rather surely, know the word "fagiolo". Here I have a tin of beans, "fagioli in scatola". There are beans inside. The singular of the noun "fagioli" is "fagiolo".

Specifically, these beans are called "cannellini". No, wait - "borlotti". "Fagioli borlotti". This is a variety of beans. Then you also have "fagioli cannellini", another type of beans.

Whatever, you know what "fagioli" means.

(Channel Intro)

The first phrase I wanted to explain is: "casca a fagiolo". Some people also say "ci casca a fagiolo". You can also hear "capita a fagiolo".

I am telling you these forms, that is, present tense third-person-singular, because this phrase is mostly, if not exclusively, used in this person and tense. It is clear that the infinitive mood would be "cascare a fagiolo" or "capitare a fagiolo".

You probably know the verb "capitare". "Capitare" is a more informal version of "succedere", if you will. So "capita a fagiolo" can be understood as: "succede a fagiolo".

The verb "cascare", by contrast, is a bit more colloquial and you might not know it. In any case, "cascare" is a synonym of "cadere". So "casca a fagiolo" means: "cade a fagiolo".

The origin of these idioms with the word "fagiolo" is not entirely clear. Different theories have been proposed.

A theory that I find particularly interesting and fascinating is the following one.

Some argue that we say that something "casca a fagiolo", that is, "cade a fagiolo", because back in the day beans were harvested when they were very ripe. So it was sufficient to tap the bean and it would fall down. You didn't need to pull it, right? It was sufficient to tap it and the bean would fall down.

Therefore, according to this theory, "casca a fagiolo" arguably refers to this circumstance. So the phrase "casca a fagiolo" should be understood as: it falls down just like a bean. Because, like I said earlier, "cascare" is a synonym of "cadere".

But what does "casca a fagiolo" or "capita a fagiolo" mean?

It means that something happens at the perfect moment.

Let's do an example right away!

Let's pretend that I were a student, a high-school student, right? Let's pretend that next Wednesday I'm scheduled to have a written test. For instance a math written test, right?

So I need to prepare, because next Wednesday I'll have the written test and I need to study. I need to prepare for the test.

However, let's pretend that students organize a student protest which will take place on that very Wednesday. So on that Wednesday there won't be any lessons. Because people won't go to school, because this protest will take place.

Well, commenting this circumstance, I could say: "Questa manifestazione casca proprio a fagiolo". Or: "Che fortuna! Questa manifestazione capita a fagiolo!".

What does it mean?

It means: this student protest, which was not foreseeable, will occur at the perfect moment.

Why?

Because it will save me from the written test. Because I had to prepare for the written test. Students decided to organize a protest, so there will be no lessons. Therefore I'll have more time to study.

So, in a way, the protest "casca a fagiolo" and saves me.

So the phrase "capitare a fagiolo" or "cascare a fagiolo" means occuring exactly at the right moment. So these phrases are used to refer to an unforeseeable event occurring at a favorable moment, at the right moment.

I would say this is the most common phrase out of the three.

Next we also have the phrase "andare a fagiolo". Typically used with the third-person-singular, so "va a fagiolo".

The expression "va a fagiolo" is used in reference to something considered perfect for a specific use or purpose.

For example, some people may say something along these lines: "Marco va a fagiolo come direttore finanziario". What does it mean? Marco is perfect as finance director.

Another sentence pattern that I hear quite often is "va a fagiolo per" followed by the infinitive mood. Next you specify the purpose or use for which this thing or individual that "falls like a bean". That is, the purpose or use for which this thing (or individual) is perfect.

I would say that this is a more informal and colloquial idiom compared to "casca a fagiolo" and "capita a fagiolo".

Lastly, we have the idiom "Mi va a fagiolo". Which is used to indicate that something is liked by the person speaking.

If one says "Mi va a fagiolo", they mean, essentially, I like it. That is, if one says "Questa cosa mi va a fagiolo" they mean: I like this thing. Or, in theory, they could also mean: I agree with this thing. Meaning I'm ok with this thing.

This is also a quite informal and colloquial idiom.

So, as you have seen, there are basically three expressions. There's a part which remains unchanged: "a fagiolo". Then in one case we have the verb "capita" or "casca", in the other we have the verb "va", in the third case we also have "va", but we also have a personal pronoun, so "mi va a fagiolo".

Like I said, the most common phrase is undoubtedly the first one, "casca a fagiolo" or "capita a fagiolo".

Some time ago I made a video about the idiomatic expression "E qui casca l'asino!". Well, in that phrase too we use the verb "cascare".

If you want, take a look at that video. Here I'll add a card to it. Well, you might wanna take a look at it.

That being said - Bye Bye! May the force of advanced Italian be with you!