The word capatina in Italian means a quick or flying visit. It is the diminutive form of capata (capata + -ina), which means exactly the same thing but, for some reason, isn’t used with the same frequency as capatina.
Because it is a feminine noun, capatina takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
la capatina
una capatina
le capatine
delle capatine
Capatina is normally accompanied by the verb fare (to make / do), which means to make a quick visit, to drop by or to pop in. Here are a few places where one might fare una capatina:
- fare una capatina in città = to pop into town
- fare una capatina in ufficio = to drop by the office
- fare una capatina al bar = to stop by the café
- fare una capatina a casa = to pop home
Faccio una capatina in salumeria. Ti serve niente?
I’m going to stop by the delicatessen. Do you need anything?
A very common synonym is salto (jump), so instead of fare una capatina, you can say fare un salto (lit. to make a jump).
Faccio un salto in ufficio e poi ti raggiungo.
I’m going to drop by the office and then I’ll join you.
Did you know that…?
Capata, which derives from the word capo (head), also means “a blow given with one’s head”.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
