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. ## Related pages - Full conjugation of kochen — every tense of kochen in one place. - Kochen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense. - Kochen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb. - Putzen conjugation — another everyday German verb. - Waschen conjugation — another everyday German verb. - Duschen conjugation — another everyday German verb. - German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages. - Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages. - French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages. - VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists. - Present Tense Conjugator — practise kochen with the interactive tool. - Tense Finder — practise kochen with the interactive tool. - Spanish Verb Quiz — practise kochen with the interactive tool.

Kochen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Kochen means “to cook”, and this page covers exactly one thing: kochen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for kochen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about kochen in the present. For example: “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of kochen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Kochen in the Present Tense — full table

Person	Form
ich	koche
du	kochst
er/sie/es	kocht
wir	kochen
ihr	kocht
sie/Sie	kochen

Partizip I: kochend · Partizip II: gekocht

The present participle is kochend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gekocht, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gekocht, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how kochen is used.

How the Präsens of kochen is formed

The present of kochen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich koche, du kochst, er/sie/es kocht, wir kochen, ihr kocht, sie/Sie kochen. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I kochend and Partizip II gekocht belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise kochen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of kochen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use kochen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Cooking a soup — the everyday use

Kochen is the verb for cooking a soup. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.”

2. Cooking rice with vegetables — a second everyday use

Kochen also covers cooking rice with vegetables. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du kochst Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “You cook rice with vegetables every day.”

3. Cooking pasta for the family — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use kochen for cooking pasta for the family. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er kocht Pasta für die Familie jeden Tag.” — “He cooks pasta for the family every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and kochen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir kochen eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “We cook a soup every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with kochen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr kocht Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “You cook rice with vegetables every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

Present: “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich kochte eine Suppe gestern.” — “I cooked a soup yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Present: “Du kochst Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “You cook rice with vegetables every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du kochtest Reis mit Gemüse gestern.” — “You cooked rice with vegetables yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.
Present: “Wir kochen Pasta für die Familie jeden Tag.” — “We cook pasta for the family every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir kochten Pasta für die Familie gestern.” — “We cooked pasta for the family yesterday.”
The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: kochen in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

“Ich koche Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “I cook rice with vegetables every day.”
“Du kochst Pasta für die Familie jeden Tag.” — “You cook pasta for the family every day.”
“Er kocht eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “He cooks a soup every day.”
“Wir kochen Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “We cook rice with vegetables every day.”
“Ihr kocht Pasta für die Familie jeden Tag.” — “You cook pasta for the family every day.”
“Sie kochen eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “They cook a soup every day.”
“Ich koche Reis mit Gemüse jeden Tag.” — “I cook rice with vegetables every day.”
“Du kochst Pasta für die Familie jeden Tag.” — “You cook pasta for the family every day.”

Common mistakes with kochen in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

Wrong: “Ich kochen eine Suppe.” Right: “Ich koche eine Suppe.” Why: The ich form is koche, not kochen. Kochen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.
Wrong: “Wir kochen eine Suppe.” Right: “Wir kochen eine Suppe.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: kochen, not kochen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.
Wrong: “Ich kochen eine Suppe.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich koche eine Suppe.” Why: The infinitive kochen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form koche.
Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich koche eine Suppe.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich koche eine Suppe.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use koche here, not the indicative koche.

Quiz: kochen in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ Reis mit Gemüse.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ Pasta für die Familie.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ eine Suppe.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ Reis mit Gemüse.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ Pasta für die Familie.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ eine Suppe.”

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

7. What does kochen mean in English?

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

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

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

Answer key

C) koche — The ich form is koche.
A) kochst — The du form is kochst.
D) kocht — The er/sie/es form is kocht.
A) kochen — The wir form is kochen.
D) kocht — The ihr form is kocht.
A) kochen — The sie/Sie form is kochen.
B) to cook — kochen means “to cook”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
D) gekocht — The past participle of kochen is gekocht; the Präsens is formed with haben + gekocht.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of kochen formed?

The present of kochen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich koche, du kochst, er kocht, wir kochen, ihr kocht, sie kochen.

When do I use the present of kochen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” — “I cook a soup every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of kochen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich koche eine Suppe jeden Tag.” with “Ich kochte eine Suppe gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

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.

Full conjugation of kochen — every tense of kochen in one place.
Kochen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
Kochen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
Putzen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
Waschen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
Duschen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
Present Tense Conjugator — practise kochen with the interactive tool.
Tense Finder — practise kochen with the interactive tool.
Spanish Verb Quiz — practise kochen with the interactive tool.