fallar

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *falliāre, from Latin fallere (and so related to Catalan fallir). Compare Occitan falhar.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [fəˈʎa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [faˈʎaɾ]

fallar (first-person singular present fallo, first-person singular preterite fallí, past participle fallat)

1. (transitive) to miss (to fail to hit)

   Antonym: encertar

2. (intransitive) to fail (to cease to operate correctly)

   Synonym: fallir

   Antonym: funcionar

3. (transitive) to let down (to disappoint)

• “fallar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “fallar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

fallar

1. inflection of fallō:
   1. first-person singular future passive indicative
   2. first-person singular present passive subjunctive

fallar (first-person singular present fallo, first-person singular preterite fallei, past participle fallado)

1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of falar.
   • 1879, Adolfo Coelho, “A Bella-menina”, in Contos Populares Portuguezes, P. Plantier Editor, page 70:

     Chegou lá e viu uma casa grande e estropeou á porta; não lhe fallaram; tornou a estropear; não lhe fallaram.

     He arrived there and he saw a big house and knocked at the door; no one answered; he went back to knocking; no one answered.

This spelling coexisted with falar.

From falla, of Catalan origin, ultimately from Latin fallere and hence cognate with English fail.

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: fa‧llar

fallar (first-person singular present fallo, first-person singular preterite fallé, past participle fallado)

1. (transitive) to fail
2. (intransitive) to crash or break down (a computer)

   Synonym: averiarse

3. (transitive) to let down (to disappoint)

   me fallan los dedos

   my fingers let me down

4. (law) to rule, give (a verdict or sentence)

   Synonym: laudar

• “fallar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024