Cozinhar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

cozinhar — to cook — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to cook, and it is completely regular: cozinho, cozinhas, cozinha, cozinhamos, cozinhais, cozinham. Its pretérito perfeito is cozinhei, cozinhaste, cozinhou, and its participle is cozinhado. It is the verb for cooking dinner and for working as a cook. On this page you will find cozinhar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the cozinhar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the cozinhar present tense page.

Example sentences with cozinhar

In the present tense

  • “Eu cozinho o jantar todos os dias.” — “I cook dinner”
  • “Tu cozinhas o jantar todos os dias.” — “You cook dinner”
  • “Ele cozinha o jantar todos os dias.” — “He cooks dinner”
  • “Nós cozinhamos o jantar todos os dias.” — “We cook dinner”
  • “Vós cozinhais o jantar todos os dias.” — “You cook dinner”
  • “Eles cozinham o jantar todos os dias.” — “They cook dinner”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu cozinhei o jantar ontem.” — “I cooked dinner”
  • “Tu cozinhaste o jantar ontem.” — “You cooked dinner”
  • “Ele cozinhou o jantar ontem.” — “He cooked dinner”
  • “Nós cozinhámos o jantar ontem.” — “We cooked dinner”
  • “Vós cozinhastes o jantar ontem.” — “You cooked dinner”
  • “Eles cozinharam o jantar ontem.” — “They cooked dinner”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu cozinhava o jantar antigamente.” — “I used to cook dinner”
  • “Tu cozinharás o jantar amanhã.” — “You will cook dinner”
  • “Ele cozinharia o jantar um dia.” — “He would cook dinner”
  • “É importante que nós cozinhemos o jantar.” — “It is important that we cook dinner”
  • “Cozinha o jantar!” — “Cook dinner!”

How cozinhar is used

The first thing to know about cozinhar is its core meaning: to cook. It means to cook, and it is completely regular: cozinho, cozinhas, cozinha, cozinhamos, cozinhais, cozinham. Its pretérito perfeito is cozinhei, cozinhaste, cozinhou, and its participle is cozinhado. It is the verb for cooking dinner and for working as a cook. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company cozinhar keeps. The present eu form is cozinho, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho cozinhado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what cozinhar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need cozinho, never cozinhar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho cozinhado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle cozinhado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Cozinhar in context

Eu cozinho o jantar todos os dias. Tu cozinhas o jantar todos os dias. Ele cozinha o jantar todos os dias. Nós cozinhamos o jantar todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of cozinhar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — cozinho, cozinhas, cozinha, cozinhamos — while the meaning stays the same: to cook. Eu cozinhei o jantar ontem. Tu cozinhaste o jantar ontem. Ele cozinhou o jantar ontem. Nós cozinhámos o jantar ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of cozinhar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to cook — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu cozinhar o jantar.”

✓ Right: “Eu cozinho o jantar todos os dias.”

The infinitive cozinhar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form cozinho.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu cozinhas o jantar.”

✓ Right: “Eu cozinho o jantar todos os dias.”

cozinhas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is cozinho — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu cozinho o jantar ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu cozinhei o jantar ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito cozinhei here, not the present cozinho.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou cozinhado o jantar.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho cozinhado o jantar esta semana.”

cozinhar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho cozinhado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on cozinhar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of cozinhar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) cozinho
    • B) cozinhas
    • C) cozinha
    • D) cozinhamos

  2. What is the eu form of cozinhar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens cozinhado
    • B) tem cozinhado
    • C) tenho cozinhado
    • D) temos cozinhado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of cozinhar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) cozinhavas
    • B) cozinhávamos
    • C) cozinháveis
    • D) cozinhava

  4. What is the nós form of cozinhar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) cozinharemos
    • B) cozinharei
    • C) cozinharás
    • D) cozinhará

  5. What is the tu form of cozinhar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) cozinharia
    • B) cozinharias
    • C) cozinharíamos
    • D) cozinharíeis

  6. What is the eu form of cozinhar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) cozinharas
    • B) cozinháramos
    • C) cozinhara
    • D) cozinháreis

  7. What is the nós form of cozinhar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) cozinhe
    • B) cozinhes
    • C) cozinheis
    • D) cozinhemos

  8. What is the gerund of cozinhar?

    • A) cozinhando
    • B) cozinhado
    • C) cozinhar
    • D) cozinho

  9. What is the past participle of cozinhar?

    • A) cozinhando
    • B) cozinhado
    • C) cozinhar
    • D) cozinho

  10. What does cozinhar mean in English?

  • A) to ask for
  • B) to receive
  • C) to cook
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) cozinhas — the correct form is cozinhas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho cozinhado — the correct form is tenho cozinhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) cozinhava — the correct form is cozinhava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cozinharemos — the correct form is cozinharemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cozinharias — the correct form is cozinharias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cozinhara — the correct form is cozinhara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) cozinhemos — the correct form is cozinhemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cozinhando — the correct form is cozinhando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) cozinhado — the correct form is cozinhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to cook — the correct form is to cook. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does cozinhar mean in English?

cozinhar means “to cook”. You use it whenever you talk about to cook in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is cozinhar regular or irregular?

cozinhar is regular. cozinhar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of cozinhar?

The gerund is cozinhando and the past participle is cozinhado. The perfect tenses use ter + cozinhado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of cozinhar?

On the cozinhar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The cozinhar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for cozinhar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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