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### The Verb "Cavarsela"

Moving to a new country brings a mix of excitement and culture shock. To talk about how you manage, navigate difficulties, or "get by," Italians use the highly frequent pronominal verb **cavarsela**.

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This verb is made of three parts: the root verb **cavare**, the reflexive pronoun **si**, and the fixed pronoun **la**. 

### Conjugating "Cavarsela"

To conjugate **cavarsela** in the present tense, you must change the reflexive pronoun to match the subject (*me, te, se, ce, ve, se*), keep the *la* exactly as it is, and conjugate *cavare* as a regular *-are* verb.

| Subject | Pronouns + Verb |
| --- | --- |
| io | me la cavo |
| tu | te la cavi |
| lui/lei/Lei | se la cava |
| noi | ce la caviamo |
| voi | ve la cavate |
| loro | se la cavano |

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### Asking How Someone is Managing

You will frequently hear this verb in questions when someone wants to know how you are handling a new job, a new language, or a different culture.

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### Using "Cavarsela" in the Infinitive

When you need to use the verb in its unconjugated infinitive form—such as after a preposition like *per* (for/in order to) or when making general statements—the pronouns stay attached to the end of the word as one single block: **cavarsela**.

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### Adapting to a New Culture

Getting by abroad isn't just about managing daily logistics. It also involves reflexive verbs like **integrarsi** (to integrate) and **abituarsi** (to get used to) as you navigate a new lifestyle and overcome homesickness.

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Managing to get by (cavarsela)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
initially	inizialmente
difficulty	la difficoltà
to get by / to manage (scrape by)	cavarsela
Initially there are many difficulties, but I manage well.	Inizialmente ci sono molte difficoltà, ma me la cavo bene.
difference	la differenza
cultural	culturale
Marco manages well with this cultural difference.	Marco se la cava bene con questa differenza culturale.
to get used to	abituarsi
to find oneself; to be, to get on (mi trovo bene = I like it here)	trovarsi
How are you managing? Are you getting used to the new life?	Come te la cavi? Ti abitui alla nuova vita?
There are cultural differences, but we get by.	Ci sono differenze culturali, ma ce la caviamo.
to integrate	integrarsi
They manage well and integrate quickly.	Se la cavano bene e si integrano velocemente.
mentality / mindset	la mentalità
Madam, how are you managing? Are you getting used to our mentality?	Signora, come se la cava? Si abitua alla nostra mentalità?
homesickness / nostalgia	la nostalgia
to miss, to be homesick for	avere nostalgia di
It is hard to manage when you are homesick.	È difficile cavarsela quando hai nostalgia di casa.
style	lo stile
Initially, how are you all managing with this new lifestyle?	Inizialmente come ve la cavate con questo nuovo stile di vita?
To integrate, one must understand the mentality and overcome homesickness.	Per integrarsi bisogna capire la mentalità e superare la nostalgia.
There is a lot to learn to manage well abroad.	C'è molto da imparare per cavarsela bene all'estero.
I like this lifestyle, despite the cultural difference.	Mi piace questo stile di vita, nonostante la differenza culturale.
It is a difficulty to overcome in order to integrate here.	È una difficoltà da superare per integrarsi qui.
I miss my grandmother.	Ho nostalgia di mia nonna.
I am far away and I am homesick.	Sono lontano e ho nostalgia di casa.
How are you getting on in the new city?	Come ti trovi nella nuova città?
I like it in this neighborhood.	Mi trovo bene in questo quartiere.

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