Meaning
Without a specific plan.
Cultural Background
Italians often value 'spontaneità' (spontaneity). Doing things 'a caso' is often seen as a sign of being relaxed and not 'fissato' (obsessed) with rules. In Italian schools, teachers often say 'Non rispondere a caso!' to students who guess. It emphasizes that learning should be intentional, not luck-based. There is a concept called 'sprezzatura'—making something difficult look easy and unplanned. Sometimes, an outfit that looks 'a caso' is actually very carefully chosen. On Italian social media, 'a caso' is used to describe 'random' humor or memes that don't have a clear context, similar to 'shitposting' in English.
The 'Choice' Test
If you can replace the phrase with 'without looking' or 'without thinking', 'a caso' is likely correct.
Don't use with 'incontrare'
Unless you are a scientist selecting subjects, never say 'ho incontrato un amico a caso'. Use 'per caso'.
Meaning
Without a specific plan.
The 'Choice' Test
If you can replace the phrase with 'without looking' or 'without thinking', 'a caso' is likely correct.
Don't use with 'incontrare'
Unless you are a scientist selecting subjects, never say 'ho incontrato un amico a caso'. Use 'per caso'.
Sound like a native
Use 'a caso' when someone asks you 'Perché?' and you don't have a real reason. It's a very common 'shrug' in verbal form.
Test Yourself
Complete the sentence with the correct phrase.
Non ho un piano, cammino per la città ___.
When you walk without a plan, you walk 'a caso'.
Which sentence is correct for 'I met him by accident'?
Come si dice 'I met him by accident'?
'Per caso' is used for accidental events, 'a caso' for random choices.
Fill in the missing part of the dialogue.
A: Quale pizza vuoi? B: Non lo so, prendine una ___.
B is asking A to pick any pizza randomly.
Match the phrase to the situation.
You are picking a card from a deck without looking.
Picking a card without looking is a random selection.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
A Caso vs. Per Caso
Practice Bank
4 exercisesNon ho un piano, cammino per la città ___.
When you walk without a plan, you walk 'a caso'.
Come si dice 'I met him by accident'?
'Per caso' is used for accidental events, 'a caso' for random choices.
A: Quale pizza vuoi? B: Non lo so, prendine una ___.
B is asking A to pick any pizza randomly.
You are picking a card from a deck without looking.
Picking a card without looking is a random selection.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsNot usually, but telling someone 'parli a caso' (you're talking at random) can be seen as dismissive or rude.
Younger Italians do, but 'a caso' is more traditional and understood by everyone.
'Casualmente' is more formal and can cover both 'randomly' and 'by chance'.
No, it is an adverbial phrase and remains invariable.
Yes, it means 'a random person' (e.g., chosen for a survey).
Use 'in modo casuale' or 'arbitrariamente'.
It's informal and slightly derogatory, but not exactly slang.
Prepositions in idioms are fixed. 'A' is the standard preposition for this expression.
Not really. For time, we use 'a un'ora qualunque' or 'improvvisamente'.
Yes, it's very common in Italian pop and indie music to describe feelings or events.
Related Phrases
per caso
similarby chance / by accident
a casaccio
specialized formmessily / poorly
casualmente
synonymrandomly / coincidentally
alla rinfusa
similarin a jumble
senza criterio
synonymwithout criteria
