Cucinare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

cucinare — to cook — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb for cooking a meal, and it is completely regular in every tense. It takes the dish or the meal as its object, and it is the verb behind every recipe and every kitchen conversation. On this page you will find cucinare 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 cucinare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the cucinare present tense page.

Example sentences with cucinare

In the present tense

  • “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.” — “I cook dinner”
  • “Tu cucini la cena ogni giorno.” — “You cook dinner”
  • “Lui cucina la cena ogni giorno.” — “He cooks dinner”
  • “Noi cuciniamo la cena ogni giorno.” — “We cook dinner”
  • “Voi cucinate la cena ogni giorno.” — “You cook dinner”
  • “Loro cucinano la cena ogni giorno.” — “They cook dinner”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “I have cooked dinner”
  • “Tu hai cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “You have cooked dinner”
  • “Lui ha cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “He has cooked dinner”
  • “Noi abbiamo cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “We have cooked dinner”
  • “Voi avete cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “You have cooked dinner”
  • “Loro hanno cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “They have cooked dinner”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io cucinavo la cena una volta.” — “I used to cook dinner”
  • “Tu cucinerai la cena domani.” — “You will cook dinner”
  • “Lui cucinerebbe la cena un giorno.” — “He would cook dinner”
  • “È importante che noi cuciniamo la cena.” — “It is important that we cook dinner”
  • “Cucina la cena!” — “Cook dinner!”

How cucinare is used

The first thing to know about cucinare is its core meaning: to cook. It is the verb for cooking a meal, and it is completely regular in every tense. It takes the dish or the meal as its object, and it is the verb behind every recipe and every kitchen conversation. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, 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 cucinare keeps. The present io form is cucino, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho cucinato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana 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 cucinare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need cucino, never cucinare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho cucinato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle cucinato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Cucinare in context

Io cucino la cena ogni giorno. Tu cucini la cena ogni giorno. Lui cucina la cena ogni giorno. Noi cuciniamo la cena ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of cucinare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — cucino, cucini, cucina, cuciniamo — while the meaning stays the same: to cook. Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana. Tu hai cucinato la cena questa settimana. Lui ha cucinato la cena questa settimana. Noi abbiamo cucinato la cena questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of cucinare 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: “Io cucinare la cena.”

✓ Right: “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.”

The infinitive cucinare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form cucino.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io cucini la cena.”

✓ Right: “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.”

cucini is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is cucino — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io cucino la cena ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho cucinato here, not the present cucino.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono cucinato la cena.”

✓ Right: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.”

cucinare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho cucinato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. What is the tu form of cucinare in the Present indicative?

    • A) cucino
    • B) cucini
    • C) cucina
    • D) cuciniamo

  2. What is the io form of cucinare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai cucinato
    • B) ha cucinato
    • C) ho cucinato
    • D) abbiamo cucinato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of cucinare in the Imperfect?

    • A) cucinavo
    • B) cucinavi
    • C) cucinavamo
    • D) cucinava

  4. What is the noi form of cucinare in the Future?

    • A) cucineremo
    • B) cucinerò
    • C) cucinerai
    • D) cucinerà

  5. What is the tu form of cucinare in the Conditional?

    • A) cucinerei
    • B) cucineresti
    • C) cucinerebbe
    • D) cucineremmo

  6. What is the io form of cucinare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) cucinasti
    • B) cucinò
    • C) cucinai
    • D) cucinammo

  7. What is the noi form of cucinare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) cucini
    • B) cuciniate
    • C) cucinino
    • D) cuciniamo

  8. What is the gerund of cucinare?

    • A) cucinando
    • B) cucinato
    • C) cucinare
    • D) cucino

  9. What is the past participle of cucinare?

    • A) cucinando
    • B) cucinato
    • C) cucinare
    • D) cucino

  10. What does cucinare mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to cook
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) cucini — the correct form is cucini. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho cucinato — the correct form is ho cucinato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) cucinava — the correct form is cucinava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cucineremo — the correct form is cucineremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cucineresti — the correct form is cucineresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cucinai — the correct form is cucinai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) cuciniamo — the correct form is cuciniamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cucinando — the correct form is cucinando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) cucinato — the correct form is cucinato. 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 cucinare mean in English?

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

Is cucinare regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of cucinare?

The gerund is cucinando and the past participle is cucinato. The perfect tenses use avere + cucinato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of cucinare?

On the cucinare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The cucinare 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 cucinare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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