Cucinare Conjugation in Italian
cucinare means “to cook” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 96 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cucinare — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.” — “I cook dinner.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: cucinare
- English: to cook
- Verb type: Regular -are verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: cucinando
- Present participle: cucinante
- Past participle: cucinato
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read cucinare in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about cucinare
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle cucinato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are cucinante and cucinato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for cucinare. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucino |
| tu | cucini |
| lui/lei | cucina |
| noi | cuciniamo |
| voi | cucinate |
| loro | cucinano |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.” — “I cook dinner”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucinai |
| tu | cucinasti |
| lui/lei | cucinò |
| noi | cucinammo |
| voi | cucinaste |
| loro | cucinarono |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io cucinai la cena ieri.” — “I cooked dinner”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucinavo |
| tu | cucinavi |
| lui/lei | cucinava |
| noi | cucinavamo |
| voi | cucinavate |
| loro | cucinavano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io cucinavo la cena una volta.” — “I used to cook dinner”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucinerò |
| tu | cucinerai |
| lui/lei | cucinerà |
| noi | cucineremo |
| voi | cucinerete |
| loro | cucineranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io cucinerò la cena domani.” — “I will cook dinner”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucinerei |
| tu | cucineresti |
| lui/lei | cucinerebbe |
| noi | cucineremmo |
| voi | cucinereste |
| loro | cucinerebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io cucinerei la cena un giorno.” — “I would cook dinner”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho cucinato |
| tu | hai cucinato |
| lui/lei | ha cucinato |
| noi | abbiamo cucinato |
| voi | avete cucinato |
| loro | hanno cucinato |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “He has cooked dinner”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo cucinato |
| tu | avevi cucinato |
| lui/lei | aveva cucinato |
| noi | avevamo cucinato |
| voi | avevate cucinato |
| loro | avevano cucinato |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo cucinato la cena prima della festa.” — “I had cooked dinner”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò cucinato |
| tu | avrai cucinato |
| lui/lei | avrà cucinato |
| noi | avremo cucinato |
| voi | avrete cucinato |
| loro | avranno cucinato |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò cucinato la cena per domani.” — “I will have cooked dinner”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei cucinato |
| tu | avresti cucinato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe cucinato |
| noi | avremmo cucinato |
| voi | avreste cucinato |
| loro | avrebbero cucinato |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei cucinato la cena ieri.” — “I would have cooked dinner”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucini |
| tu | cucini |
| lui/lei | cucini |
| noi | cuciniamo |
| voi | cuciniate |
| loro | cucinino |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io cucini la cena.” — “It is important that I cook dinner”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | cucinassi |
| tu | cucinassi |
| lui/lei | cucinasse |
| noi | cucinassimo |
| voi | cucinaste |
| loro | cucinassero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io cucinassi la cena.” — “It was important that I cook dinner”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cucina |
| lui/lei | cucini |
| noi | cuciniamo |
| voi | cucinate |
| loro | cucinino |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Cucina la cena!” — “Cook dinner!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | cucinare |
| lui/lei | cucini |
| noi | cuciniamo |
| voi | cuciniate |
| loro | cucinino |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non cucinare la cena.” — “Do not cook dinner.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | cucinando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Cucinando la cena, imparo molto.” — “While cooking dinner, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | cucinante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle cucinante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | cucinato |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “I have cooked dinner.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with cucinare, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.” — “I cook dinner”
- “Tu cucinasti la cena ieri.” — “You cooked dinner”
- “Lui cucinava la cena una volta.” — “He used to cook dinner”
- “Io cucinerò la cena domani.” — “I will cook dinner”
- “Tu cucineresti la cena un giorno.” — “You would cook dinner”
- “Lui ha cucinato la cena questa settimana.” — “He has cooked dinner”
- “Io avevo cucinato la cena prima della festa.” — “I had cooked dinner”
- “Tu avrai cucinato la cena per domani.” — “You will have cooked dinner”
- “È importante che io cucini la cena.” — “It is important that I cook dinner”
- “Cucina la cena!” — “Cook dinner!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io cucini la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.”
cucini is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with cucino.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io cucino la cena ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho cucinato for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono cucinato la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of cucinare is formed with avere plus the past participle cucinato: the io form is ho cucinato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io cucino la cena.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io cucini la cena.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use cucini here, not the indicative cucino.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho cucinando la cena.”
✓ Right: “Io ho cucinato la cena questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle cucinato, not the gerund cucinando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on cucinare. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of cucinare in the Present indicative?
- A) cucini
- B) cucino
- C) cucina
- D) cuciniamo
What is the lui/lei form of cucinare in the Passato remoto?
- A) cucinai
- B) cucinasti
- C) cucinò
- D) cucinammo
What is the noi form of cucinare in the Imperfect?
- A) cucinavo
- B) cucinavi
- C) cucinava
- D) cucinavamo
What is the tu form of cucinare in the Future?
- A) cucinerai
- B) cucinerò
- C) cucinerà
- D) cucineremo
What is the io form of cucinare in the Conditional?
- A) cucineresti
- B) cucinerei
- C) cucinerebbe
- D) cucineremmo
What is the lui/lei form of cucinare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho cucinato
- B) hai cucinato
- C) ha cucinato
- D) abbiamo cucinato
What is the lui/lei form of cucinare in the Present subjunctive?
- A) cuciniamo
- B) cuciniate
- C) cucinino
- D) cucini
What is the io form of cucinare in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) cucinassi
- B) cucinasse
- C) cucinassimo
- D) cucinaste
What is the gerund of cucinare?
- A) cucinato
- B) cucinando
- C) cucinare
- D) cucino
What does cucinare mean in English?
- A) to explain
- B) to answer
- C) to cook
- D) to ask
Answer key
- B) cucino — the correct form is cucino. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) cucinò — the correct form is cucinò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cucinavamo — the correct form is cucinavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cucinerai — the correct form is cucinerai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cucinerei — the correct form is cucinerei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha cucinato — the correct form is ha cucinato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) cucini — the correct form is cucini. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) cucinassi — the correct form is cucinassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) cucinando — the correct form is cucinando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is cucinare regular or irregular?
cucinare is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is cucinando and the past participle is cucinato.
What are the gerund and past participle of cucinare?
The gerund is cucinando — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is cucinato — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho cucinato.
Which auxiliary does cucinare take in the passato prossimo?
cucinare takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho cucinato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle cucinato.
How do I say “I cook” in Italian?
Say “Io cucino la cena ogni giorno.” — “I cook dinner” The io form of the present is cucino, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of cucinare — every tense of cucinare in one place.
- Cucinare in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Cucinare examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Italian.
- Spiegare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Domandare conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise cucinare with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise cucinare with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise cucinare with the interactive tool.