capisce
Syllables: cap·isce/kəˈpiːʃ//kəˈpiʃ/
capisce interjection: used by a listener to confirm that they have understood something said to them: I got it, I heard you, I understand.
Interjection
(chiefly US, slang)
- Used by a listener to confirm that they have understood something said to them: I got it, I heard you, I understand.
- "I have a niece." / "No children?" / "Not married." / "What is the problem?" / "I'm single. No wife, no kids. No problem." / "Capisce." / "Yeah, capisce."2009, J. Malcolm Garcia, “Encountering Afghanistan”, in The Khaarijee: A Chronicle of Friendship and War in Kabul, Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, →ISBN, part 1 (Shadows of Home), page 24
- "It’s simple. Here's the rules: One of us says 'Never Have I Ever' and finishes the sentence. If you've done whatever the thing is, you drink. Yeah?" / "Capisce." I salute and he laughs.2014, Lia Riley, “Talia”, in Upside Down (Off the Map; 1), New York, N.Y.: Forever, Hachette Book Group, published May 2015, →ISBN, page 40
- Used by a speaker to confirm that the listener has understood something said to the latter: did you hear me?, get it?, understood?
- It's very simple, George, you forget about this whole licensing lawsuit pipe dream of yours or you can forget about your buddy working in my factory for the next couple of years. I will be that angry. Capiche?1993, Eric Bogosian, Notes from Underground, New York, N.Y.: Hyperion, →ISBN, Act III, page 138
- Detective Brodka: Hey kid, one more thing: if you ever set foot in this store again, you'll be spending Christmas in juvenile hall! Capisce? / Bart: [silently stares in confusion] / Brodka: Well, do you understand? / Bart: Everything except "capisce."1995 December 17, Mike Scully, “Marge Be Not Proud” (08:41 from the start), in The Simpsons, season 7, episode 11, spoken by Bart Simpson (Nancy Cartwright), New York, N.Y.: Fox Broadcasting Company...
Verb
capisce (third-person singular simple present capisces, present participle capiscing, simple past and past participle capisced)
- To understand (someone or something).
- "I need at least a B-plus, and no one—I repeat, NO ONE—can know that I didn't write it. This paper is vitally important to my future. Do you capisce what I'm saying to you? Very important." / We grumbled our understanding into the phone. "Yeah, yeah, we capisce," Ellie said.2013, Cindy Callaghan, chapter 12, in Lost in London, New York, N.Y.: Aladdin M!X, →ISBN, page 83
- "Nothing they say would stop me from thinking you're the greatest, smartest, bravest little girl in the whole world. Do you capisce me?" / "I capisce you," she nodded and her big eyes blinked back tears.2014, RoseAnn DeFranco, chapter 5, in The Right Chord (Brothers of Audubon Springs; 3), Adams Basin, N.Y.: The Wild Rose Press, →ISBN
- To understand.
- "Shoo, shoo, shoo, go help Pierfranco. He'll be bringing up heavy baskets, capisce?" I certainly capisced.2020 February, Stephanie Cole, chapter 18, in Al Dente’s Inferno (Tuscan Cooking School Mystery; 1), New York, N.Y.: Berkley Prime Crime, →ISBN, page 290
- "I'm just saying. Because I don't know if you ladies got a brownshirt vibe off those dudes like I did, but I've got two grandparents who would smack me sideways if I didn't say this. The others died in a concentration camp. Capisce?” / Bronca capisces, nodding slowly in grim agreement. Because...2020, N[ora] K[eita] Jemisin, “The Interdimensional Art Critic Dr. White”, in The City We Became (Great Cities; 1), London: Orbit, →ISBN
capisce meaning in Malay
capisce in Malay
- I got it, I heard you, I understand
- faham
Examples of capisce in a sentence
- We're talking stuff that would make Heironymous Bosch^([sic – meaning Hieronymous]) shit his britches, capisce?2005, Jeph Jacques, “All Cards on the Table Please”, in Questionable Content, number 459 (webcomic), archived from the original on 05 Jun...
- Capisce?” / Bronca capisces, nodding slowly in grim agreement.2020, N[ora] K[eita] Jemisin, “The Interdimensional Art Critic Dr. White”, in The City We Became (Great Cities; 1), London: Orbit, →ISBN:
Forms of capisce
| Interjection | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | capeesh |
| alternative form | capiche |
| alternative form | capisch |
| alternative form | capische |
| alternative form | capishe |
| alternative form | coppish |
| alternative form | kabish |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | capisces |
| present participle | capiscing |
| past participle | capisced |
| past | capisced |
Origin of capisce
Unadapted borrowing from the spoken Neapolitan and Sicilian equivalents of either of the following: * Italian capisce (literally “he, she, etc., understands”), the third-person singular present indicative form; or * capisci (literally “you understand”) (possibly with the final vowel dropped or reduced in informal speech), the second-person singular present indicative form; of capire (“to understand”), from Latin capere, the present active infinitive of capiō (“to capture, catch, seize; to comprehend, understand; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize; to hold”).
Words that rhyme with capisce
Questions about capisce
- What does capisce mean?
- Capisce means used by a listener to confirm that they have understood something said to them: I got it, I heard you, I understand.
- What is capisce in Malay?
- Capisce in Malay is faham. See Capisce meaning in Malay.
- How do you use capisce in a sentence?
- We're talking stuff that would make Heironymous Bosch^([sic – meaning Hieronymous]) shit his britches, capisce?
- What part of speech is capisce?
- Capisce can be an interjection or a verb.
- How do you pronounce capisce?
- Capisce is pronounced /kəˈpiːʃ/ (UK).
Words near capisce in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: capisce (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-capisce.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-capisce.wav.
Cite this entry: “capisce.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/capisce. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.