Kochen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Kochen means “to cook”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for kochen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with kochen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.”
  2. “Du kochst Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “You cook rice with vegetables every day.”
  3. “Ich habe Pasta für die Familie gekocht gestern.” — “I have cooked pasta for the family yesterday.”
  4. “Er kochte eine Suppe gestern.” — “He cooked a soup yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden Reis mit Gemüse kochen morgen.” — “We will cook rice with vegetables tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast Pasta für die Familie gekocht gestern.” — “You have cooked pasta for the family yesterday.”
  7. “Ich kochte eine Suppe eines Tages.” — “I would cook a soup one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er koche Reis mit Gemüse.” — “It is important that he cook rice with vegetables.”
  9. “Wir hatten Pasta für die Familie gekocht vor der Party.” — “We had cooked pasta for the family before the party.”
  10. “Er wird eine Suppe kochen morgen.” — “He will cook a soup tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie kochen Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “They cook rice with vegetables every day.”
  12. “Koch Pasta für die Familie!” — “Cook pasta for the family!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about a soup. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how kochen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of kochen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Du kochst eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “You cook a soup every day.” Jonas: “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.” Lena: “Du wirst Reis mit Gemüse kochen morgen.” — “You will cook rice with vegetables tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde Reis mit Gemüse kochen morgen.” — “I will cook rice with vegetables tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast Pasta für die Familie gekocht gestern.” — “You have cooked pasta for the family yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe Pasta für die Familie gekocht gestern.” — “I have cooked pasta for the family yesterday.” Lena: “Du kochtest eine Suppe eines Tages.” — “You would cook a soup one day.” Jonas: “Ich kochte eine Suppe eines Tages.” — “I would cook a soup one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Kochen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of kochen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, kochen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is koche: “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, kochen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is kochte: “Er kochte Reis mit Gemüse gestern.” — “He cooked rice with vegetables yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, kochen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gekocht. The ich form is habe gekocht: “Ich habe Pasta für die Familie gekocht gestern.” — “I have cooked pasta for the family yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, kochen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden kochen: “Wir werden eine Suppe kochen morgen.” — “We will cook a soup tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, kochen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is kochtest: “Du kochtest Reis mit Gemüse eines Tages.” — “You would cook rice with vegetables one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, kochen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is koche, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich koche Pasta für die Familie.” — “It is important that I cook pasta for the family.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich kochen eine Suppe.”

✓ Right: “Ich koche eine Suppe.”

The infinitive kochen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form koche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du koche eine Suppe.”

✓ Right: “Du kochst eine Suppe.”

koche is the ich form. With du you need kochst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich koche eine Suppe gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe eine Suppe gekocht gestern.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gekocht, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du kochst Reis mit Gemüse.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du kochest Reis mit Gemüse.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: kochest, not the indicative kochst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gekocht eine Suppe.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe eine Suppe gekocht.”

The Perfekt of kochen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gekocht: the full ich form is habe gekocht.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on kochen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of kochen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) kocht
    • B) kochen
    • C) koche
    • D) kochst

  2. What is the du form of kochen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) kochst
    • B) koche
    • C) kocht
    • D) kochen

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of kochen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) hast gekocht
    • B) haben gekocht
    • C) hat gekocht
    • D) habe gekocht

  4. What is the wir form of kochen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) kochten
    • B) kochte
    • C) kochtest
    • D) kochtet

  5. What is the du form of kochen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werde kochen
    • B) wird kochen
    • C) werden kochen
    • D) wirst kochen

  6. What is the ich form of kochen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) kochten
    • B) kochtet
    • C) kochte
    • D) kochtest

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of kochen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) kochen
    • B) kochet
    • C) koche
    • D) kochest

  8. What is the ich form of kochen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet gekocht
    • B) hatte gekocht
    • C) hattest gekocht
    • D) hatten gekocht

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of kochen?

    • A) geputzt
    • B) gewaschen
    • C) geduscht
    • D) gekocht

  10. What does kochen mean in English?

  • A) to shower
  • B) to cook
  • C) to clean
  • D) to wash

Answer key

  1. C) koche — the ich form of kochen in the Present (Präsens) is koche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) kochst — the du form of kochen in the Present (Präsens) is kochst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) hat gekocht — the er/sie/es form of kochen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gekocht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) kochten — the wir form of kochen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is kochten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) wirst kochen — the du form of kochen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst kochen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) kochte — the ich form of kochen in the Konjunktiv II is kochte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) koche — the er/sie/es form of kochen in the Konjunktiv I is koche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. B) hatte gekocht — the ich form of kochen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gekocht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) gekocht — the past participle of kochen is gekocht. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. B) to cook — kochen means “to cook” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does kochen mean in English?

kochen means “to cook”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is kochen regular or irregular?

kochen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is kochend and Partizip II is gekocht.

How do I practise kochen every day?

Say one sentence with kochen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe eine Suppe gekocht gestern.” and “Ich werde eine Suppe kochen morgen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

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

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