Spanish

Verb

caer bien ‎(first-person singular present caigo bien, first-person singular preterite caí bien, past participle caído bien)

1. (transitive) to please, be nice, make a good impression (a person)

   Gerardo siempre ha caído bien = "Gerardo always has been nice (to people)"

   No les caigo bien a tus padres = "I do not please your parents"

2. (transitive) to promote or make for good or proper digestion (food)

   Tu caldo me cayó muy bien = "Your broth resulted in a good digestion for me"

3. (transitive) to make happy, make laugh, satisfy, please (news, advice, announcement)

   La noticia no le cayó bien al jefe, y está de mal humor = "The advice did not make the boss happy, and he is 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, 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. ("Tu amiga" is the subject, so the verb is conjugated in the third person and not the first person.)

I like your friend.

Me caen bien tus amigas. ("Tus amigas" is the subject, so the verb must be plural.)

I like your friends.

A Juan le cae bien mi amigo. (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.")

John likes my friend.

Synonyms

• (person): agradar, simpatizar
• (advice): agradar
• (food): hacer buen provecho

Antonyms

• (all): caer mal
• (person): caer gordo
• (person): caer pesado
• (advice): caer de peso
• (food): caer de peso, hacer daño

See also

• agrado
• simpatía
• simpático, simpática
• bonachón
• liviano
• gustar