încăpea

From a Vulgar Latin root *incapēre, from Latin capere. Alternatively, the prefix în- may have been added in early Romanian. Compare Aromanian ncap, Spanish and Portuguese caber.

• IPA^(key): /ɨn.kəˈpe̯a/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: în‧că‧pea

a încăpea (third-person singular present încape, past participle încăput, third-person subjunctive încapă) 2nd conjugation

1. (intransitive) to fit (have enough room)

   Trofeul nu încăpea în valiză, fiindcă era prea mare.

   The trophy wouldn’t fit in the suitcase because it was too big.

2. (transitive, now chiefly of clothes) to fit someone (be large enough)

   Hainele de când eram copil nu mă mai încap.

   The clothes from when I was a child do not fit me anymore.

3. (intransitive, chiefly in the negative, now most often of doubt) to be admitted in the context of human intercourse

   După ce se dă un ordin, nu mai încape zăboveală.

   After an order is given, there can be no dithering.

   Nu încape îndoială că au mințit.

   There can be no doubt that they lied.

4. (intransitive, obsolete) to end up, find oneself

   Synonyms: ajunge, nimeri

5. (copulative, obsolete) to ascend to a function
   1. (intransitive, obsolete, by ellipsis) to become ruler
6. (intransitive, obsolete or regional, often in the negative) to live peacefully within a collective or with someone
7. (intransitive, obsolete) to establish one’s rule as a foreign invader

In sense 3, the verb always precedes its subject.

Sense 4 is never copulative, but always takes an indirect (prepositional) object.

• încăpător
• încăpea pe mâna
• încăpere
• încăpea vorbă
• nu își încăpea în piele

• “încăpea”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025