The body nouns cap “head” and cara “face” support a dense network of Catalan expressions. A head is the front or controlling point, so cap extends to direction, leadership, thought, and the end of a span. A face is what one presents to the world, so cara extends to appearance, accountability, and confrontation. The metaphors are understandable, but their articles and prepositions are not freely invented.
There is also a preposition cap a “toward, around” and a negative/indefinite determiner cap “any/no.” They are historically related only at a distance and behave differently in modern grammar. This page focuses on directional cap a and the phraseology of the body noun. For the determiner, see the separate material on indefinites.
For the complete distribution of the directional preposition, see cap and cap a; for ordinary body-part determiners, see articles with body parts.
The pattern grid
| Domain | Stored pattern | Literal image | What varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| direction/time | cap a + place/time | headed toward | destination, approximate time |
| end of a span | al cap de + duration | at the head/end of | duration |
| thought | tenir/ficar-se/treure's + al/del cap | put or remove from the head | person, tense, idea |
| leadership | al capdavant de; cap de + group | at the front/head | leader and group |
| appearance | fer cara de; fer bona/mala cara | make a face of | agreement after de, degree |
| confrontation | plantar cara a; donar la cara per | set/show one's face | person, tense, opponent/cause |
| coherence | tenir cap i peus; tenir cara i ulls | have a complete body/face | negation, tense, subject |
Frame 1: cap a for direction and approximation
Substitutable frame: [movement/orientation] + cap a + [place/time].
Directional cap a points toward an endpoint without asserting arrival. Before el, it contracts as cap al; before la, it remains cap a la. Before a bare place such as casa, there is no article. With clock times or periods, the same structure means “around, toward.”
Després del pont, gireu cap a la dreta i seguiu el riu.
After the bridge, turn to the right and follow the river. (neutral instruction)
Els núvols avancen cap al litoral, però aquí encara no plou.
The clouds are moving toward the coast, but it isn't raining here yet. (neutral)
Arribarem cap a les nou si no hi ha retencions.
We'll arrive around nine if there are no traffic jams. (neutral; approximate time)
Without a, noun cap means “head” or “person in charge”: el cap del departament. This contrast is visible in the article. Va cap al despatx del cap means “He/She is heading toward the boss's office”: the first cap is prepositional, the second a noun.
Frame 2: putting ideas into and out of the head
Substitutable frame: [person] + tenir/ficar-se/treure's + [idea] + al/del cap.
Tenir una cosa al cap means that it occupies one's thoughts or intentions. Ficar-se una cosa al cap adds deliberate or stubborn commitment. Treure's una cosa del cap means abandon an idea or stop thinking about it. The reflexive clitic agrees with the thinker, while the article remains the definite el: m'ho he ficat al cap; treu-t'ho del cap.
Tinc al cap fer una ruta pels Pirineus a la tardor.
I'm thinking of doing a route through the Pyrenees in autumn. (neutral)
S'ha ficat al cap que pot arreglar la teulada tot sol.
He's got it into his head that he can repair the roof by himself. (neutral, often suggests stubbornness)
Treu-te del cap això de comprar aquell cotxe: consumeix massa.
Forget about buying that car: it uses too much fuel. (informal directive)
Other head metaphors keep distinct syntax. Perdre el cap can mean lose one's judgment or become wildly enthusiastic; trencar-se el cap means think very hard; portar algú de cap means preoccupy or bewilder someone.
Fa dos dies que em trenco el cap amb aquest error del programa.
I've been racking my brains over this software error for two days. (neutral)
La reforma ens porta de cap perquè cada setmana surt un problema nou.
The renovation is driving us mad because a new problem appears every week. (informal)
The English possessive is usually not copied onto body parts. Catalan prefers the article when possession is recoverable: em fa mal el cap, not ordinary el meu cap em fa mal. The pronoun marks the affected person.
Ends, orientation, and leadership
Al cap de + duration places an event after a span: al cap de tres dies. The duration is variable, but al cap de is a stored complex expression. Al cap i a la fi means “after all, ultimately” and is a discourse marker; both articles are fixed.
Al cap de mitja hora, el tècnic va trobar el cable desconnectat.
After half an hour, the technician found the disconnected cable. (neutral)
Al cap i a la fi, la decisió l'haurà de prendre ella.
After all, she will have to make the decision. (neutral)
Physical orientation yields cap amunt “upward,” cap avall “downward,” and cap per avall “upside down/head downward.” These contain no article. By contrast, al capdavant de “at the head of” has a contracted definite article and selects de before the organization or group.
Deixa els pots cap per avall fins que s'hagin eixugat.
Leave the jars upside down until they have dried. (neutral instruction)
La Núria estarà al capdavant de l'equip durant sis mesos.
Núria will be in charge of the team for six months. (neutral)
The noun phrase cap d'equip names a role; al capdavant de l'equip describes a position. Both are standard across varieties. Testa “head” is mainly (literary) in present-day Catalan and cannot normally replace cap inside these everyday expressions.
Frame 3: faces, appearance, and public responsibility
Substitutable frame: [person/thing] + fer cara de + [noun or agreeing adjective].
Fer cara de presents an inference from visible appearance. A following adjective agrees with the person: fa cara de cansat, fa cara de cansada. Fer bona cara can mean look healthy or react favorably, while fer mala cara can mean look unwell or display displeasure. Context chooses the reading.
La nena fa cara de cansada; avui s'ha llevat a les sis.
The girl looks tired; she got up at six today. (neutral; cansada agrees with nena)
El client no va fer gaire bona cara quan li van dir el preu.
The customer didn't look very pleased when they told him the price. (neutral idiom)
Plantar cara a algú o a alguna cosa means resist rather than yield. Donar la cara means appear openly, accept scrutiny, or take responsibility; donar la cara per algú means defend that person publicly. The definite article is part of both expressions.
Els veïns van plantar cara al projecte i van demanar un altre estudi.
The residents stood up to the project and requested another study. (neutral)
Si la proposta és meva, seré jo qui donarà la cara davant la junta.
If the proposal is mine, I'll be the one who faces the board and takes responsibility. (neutral)
—Vindrà el director a explicar-ho? —Diu que sí, que donarà la cara.
—Will the director come and explain it? —He says yes, that he'll face everyone. (informal mini-dialogue)
Cara a cara means directly, in one another's presence. De cara a can retain spatial meaning (“facing”) or extend to preparation and perspective: de cara a l'hivern “with winter in mind.” In (formal) institutional prose it can also introduce a future objective, but repeated de cara a often makes writing bureaucratic; plain per a or amb vista a may be clearer.
Coherence as a complete body
Two expressions judge whether a plan, account, or project is structurally coherent. No tenir cap ni peus means make no sense. Tenir cara i ulls means have a recognizable, workable form. These are partly frozen: generic cap, peus, cara, and ulls normally appear without articles.
Aquesta explicació no té cap ni peus: primer nega el canvi i després el justifica.
This explanation makes no sense: first it denies the change and then it justifies it. (neutral)
Després de tres esborranys, el projecte ja comença a tenir cara i ulls.
After three drafts, the project is finally beginning to take proper shape. (informal-neutral)
El projecte ja és coherent is a transparent, nonidiomatic alternative. It states the result directly; tenir cara i ulls adds the bodily image of something that has finally become recognizable.
Literal versus idiomatic reading
| Expression | Literal image | Pragmatic meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ficar-s'ho al cap | put it into one's head | become firmly determined |
| trencar-se el cap | break one's head | think very hard |
| al capdavant de | at the head/front of | in charge of |
| plantar cara a | plant one's face before | stand up to |
| tenir cara i ulls | have a face and eyes | have coherent form |
Common Mistakes
❌ Caminem cap el centre o agafem l'autobús?
Incorrect: directional cap requires a before a noun phrase; a + el contracts to al.
✅ Caminem cap al centre o agafem l'autobús?
Shall we walk toward the center or take the bus?
❌ Al cap tres dies ens van contestar.
Incorrect: the duration expression requires de.
✅ Al cap de tres dies ens van contestar.
They replied to us three days later.
❌ La Mireia fa cara de cansat.
Incorrect agreement: the adjective after fer cara de describes Mireia and must be feminine.
✅ La Mireia fa cara de cansada.
Mireia looks tired.
❌ Hem de plantar la cara contra aquesta injustícia.
Incorrect stored verb and preposition: the idiom is plantar cara a, without an article.
✅ Hem de plantar cara a aquesta injustícia.
We have to stand up to this injustice.
⚠️ No em puc treure aquesta cançó del meu cap.
Comprehensible but over-literal here: the ordinary idiom uses the definite article because the reflexive clitic identifies the possessor.
✅ No em puc treure aquesta cançó del cap.
I can't get this song out of my head.
Key Takeaways
- Directional cap a contracts before el: cap al nord, but cap a casa.
- Al cap de + duration means “after,” while al cap i a la fi means “after all.”
- Thought expressions store their prepositions and clitics: al cap, del cap, ficar-s'ho, treure-s'ho.
- Leadership uses cap de for a role and al capdavant de for a position.
- Appearance adjectives agree in fer cara de cansat/cansada.
- Plantar cara a expresses resistance; donar la cara expresses open responsibility.
- Catalan usually uses definite articles, not possessives, with inferable body parts.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Cap versus Cap AA2 — Use cap a for approximate direction and time, reduce it to cap in defined environments, and keep directional cap distinct from the negative determiner meaning ‘any/no.’
- Articles with Body Parts and ClothingA2 — Use definite articles with body parts and clothing when a clitic or the situation identifies the possessor.
- Expressions with FerB1 — Understand how fer organizes weather, elapsed time, activities, causation, appearance, measurements, and Catalan do/make collocations.
- Understanding Idioms GrammaticallyB2 — Analyze Catalan idioms by separating inflectable slots from frozen articles, clitics, agreement, prepositions, and fossilized forms.
- Productive Metaphor FamiliesB2 — Learn how Catalan builds related expressions from weather, food, body, movement, and spatial images without assuming every metaphor is freely translatable.
- Reflexive Weak PronounsA2 — Use em, et, es, ens, and us when an action returns to its subject, including body-care patterns and strong self-forms.