Caer antipático?

[eastallegheny]

My teacher used this in class yesterday, but class ended before I got a chance to ask and I was running to my next class so I couldn't stay behind.

I know caer is to fall, right? and antipático is unfriendly, the opposite of simpático, but I don't quite understand what the two words together mean - I'm guessing it's something idiomatic.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mi profesora usó esto en clase ayer, pero la clase terminó antes de que pudiera preguntar y yo estaba corriendo a mi siguiente clase, así que no podía quedarme.

Sé que la palabra "caer" significa "to fall", ¿verdad? y "antipático" significa "unfriendly", lo contrario de "simpático", pero yo no entiendo que las dos palabras juntas significan - Supongo que es algo idiomática.

Cualquier ayuda sería muy apreciada.

[Rusty]

This means about the same as 'caer mal' (dislike, can't stand).
A synonym is 'caer gordo' (this is idiomatic, because 'gordo' doesn't figure in the meaning).

If you want a way to remember this phrase better, try 'fall out of like'.
But the transliterations, 'fall bad' and 'fall unfriendly' may work equally well for you. It may also help to remember that 'fall' means 'become' or 'turn into' when we say "night is falling."

[eastallegheny]

So would you say it's a bit like "he rubs me the wrong way" or "he strikes me as unfriendly"?

[aleCcowaN]

me cayó mal = no me gustó

It comes from

me cayó mal la comida = the food made my stomach upset

caer ---> falling through the oesophagus to the stomach

la comida me cayó como una piedra
esa persona no me cayó nada bien
a ese tipo no lo puedo tragar

[amyeme6414]

Interesting... I had always wondered how caer worked in these constructions. One thing I tell my students with caer bien and caer mal is that they can think of it like a scale of impressions and where the person falls on the scale for you. Seems to help them wrap their heads around the use of this verb for these types of expressions.

[eastallegheny]

So, él me cayó antipático would be akin to "he falls on the unfriendly end of the scale", so to speak?

Si hice un error con los pronombres, ¿por favor diganmelo? No soy bueno con los pronombres jaja.

[Rusty]

Yes, those are both good translations.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I don't know the exact origin of these expressions, but I think the use of the verb caer is somehow related to the way it's used when you eat:

- Hace mucho frío. Un té caliente me caería muy bien.
It's so cold. A hot tea would do me good.

- La sopa tenía demasiada grasa. Me cayó mal.
The soup was too greasy. I feel sick.


We certainly don't go around eating people, but the way we like them or dislike them is a bit similar to how we like food. A colloquial expression that means we can't stand a person is "no tragar (a alguien)" --literally, "I can't swallow (someone)".

So I think the verb "caer", when it refers to how we like someone, has a lot to do with some kind of "taste" we get from meeting them.

[eastallegheny]

Another idiom in English is how something "strikes" you - as in, how you perceive that something, how it comes across to you.

"He strikes me as rude."
"She strikes me as ignorant."

Neither of those people actually struck anyone haha but I begin to see that it's the same sort of sense that caer is getting at?

[David Matt]

We spanish don't use "caer" and "antipático" at the same phrase. We use "ser antipático" and "caer mal". Antipático just means unfriendly, but "caer" (to fall) are used to say "I like her/him" (me cae bien) or "I don't like her/him" (me cae mal). Also you can use other adjectives or expressions:
- Me cae mal => Me cae fatal / Me cae gordísimo / Me cae como el culo / Me cae de puta pena
- Me cae bien => Me cae genial / Me cae simpático / Me cae de puta madre

I don't know it's use in Southamerica, but I think it's similar