Skip to content
fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

cucinare

to cook

  • #109 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: cucinato
  • Gerund: cucinando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I cook
  2. tu you cook
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she cooks
  4. noi we cook
  5. voi you all cook
  6. loro they cook

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I cooked
  2. tu you cooked
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she cooked
  4. noi we cooked
  5. voi you all cooked
  6. loro they cooked

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to cook
  2. tu you used to cook
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to cook
  4. noi we used to cook
  5. voi you all used to cook
  6. loro they used to cook

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will cook
  2. tu you will cook
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will cook
  4. noi we will cook
  5. voi you all will cook
  6. loro they will cook

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would cook
  2. tu you would cook
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would cook
  4. noi we would cook
  5. voi you all would cook
  6. loro they would cook

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I cook
  2. tu (that) you cook
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she cook
  4. noi (that) we cook
  5. voi (that) you all cook
  6. loro (that) they cook

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu cook!
  2. Lei cook! (formal)
  3. noi cook! (let’s)
  4. voi cook! (all of you)

How to use cucinare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Stasera cucino io, tu riposati.

    Tonight I'm cooking, you rest.

  2. Past

    Mia nonna ha cucinato per venti persone.

    My grandmother cooked for twenty people.

  3. Imperfect

    Mio padre cucinava solo la domenica.

    My father only cooked on Sundays.

  4. Future

    Domani cucinerò le lasagne per tutti.

    Tomorrow I'll cook lasagne for everyone.

  5. Conditional

    Cucinerei più spesso se avessi tempo.

    I'd cook more often if I had time.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Preferisco che cucini tu, sei più bravo.

    I'd rather you cooked, you're better at it.

  7. Imperative

    Cucina qualcosa di leggero, ho mangiato tanto a pranzo.

    Cook something light, I ate a lot at lunch.

Good to know

  • Cucinare is to cook a dish; cuocere is for the food that cooks: la pasta cuoce dieci minuti.

Where you hear cucinare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Cucino da Bruna. I cook at Bruna's.
  • Ho cucinato per cinquanta persone. I cooked for fifty people.
  • Cucinerò per cento persone. I'll cook for a hundred people.

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Cucino da Bruna. I cook at Bruna's.
  • Ho cucinato per cinquanta persone. I cooked for fifty people.
  • Cucinerò per cento persone. I'll cook for a hundred people.
16
Pasta for the Village

Beginner Level 2 · Certo! Domenica cucina Assunta!

Needs a subscription 17
The Feast Committee

Beginner Level 2 · Può cucinare per cento persone? · Cento persone! Va bene, cucinerò io.

Needs a subscription 11
Mushrooms with Pietro

Beginner Level 3 · Li cucino io!

Needs a subscription 24
Christmas Eve

Beginner Level 3 · Sette portate! Allora cucino io il baccalà.

Needs a subscription 4
The First Service

Intermediate Level 1 · Mentre cucinavo.

Needs a subscription 18
Snowstorm at the Hotel

Intermediate Level 1 · Mentre cucinavamo. · Abbiamo cucinato col gas. Con le candele!

Needs a subscription 13
A Toast

Intermediate Level 2 · Ha cucinato tutto Lei?

Needs a subscription 21
A Compliment from a Guest

Intermediate Level 2 · Chi ha cucinato il pesce? · L'ho cucinato io, con Nunzia.

Needs a subscription 12
Three Days Cut Off

Advanced Level 2 · E io cucino per tutti, sul camino.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -are verb.