cocinar
/koθiˈnaɾ/
To cook in Spanish is to say cocinar. Wiktionary also lists cocer and nixquear.
Meaning: to prepare food for eating (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| cocinar | /koθiˈnaɾ/ /kosiˈnaɾ/ |
| cocer | /koˈθeɾ/ /koˈseɾ/ |
| nixquear | /niʃkeˈaɾ/ |
The primary verb for preparing food for eating is cocinar. If you are referring to a person who prepares food, you can use the nouns cocinero for a man or cocinera for a woman.
Which one should you use?
While cocinar is the general term for the act of cooking, cocer specifically refers to the method of boiling or cooking something in a liquid. In some contexts, you may also encounter nixquear.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/koθiˈnaɾ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using cocer when you simply mean the general act of cooking. In Spanish, cocer is specifically reserved for boiling or simmering in liquid.
Did you know?
- The word nixquear comes from the Nahuatl words for 'ash' and 'maintain'. It describes a specific traditional method of cooking food using ashes.
- In historical Spanish, the verb cocer had strange forms like cueza and cuego that do not look anything like the modern word.
Examples in context
- No sé cómo cocinar.I don't know how to cook.This sentence demonstrates how to express a lack of knowledge regarding how to use cocinar.Tatoeba #7050061 by cardi, translation #325787 by CK
- No sé cocinar bien.I can't cook well.This sentence shows how to describe an inability to use cocinar effectively.Tatoeba #10295574 by Seael, translation #6274742 by CK
- ¿Quién va a cocinar?Who'll cook?This sentence is used to ask who will be responsible for using cocinar.Tatoeba #2763150 by marcelostockle, translation #2203630 by CK
- Me encanta cocinar platos tradicionales españoles.I love to cook traditional Spanish dishes.
- Mi abuela prepara la comida con mucho cariño.My grandmother cooks with a lot of love.
- El chef elabora platos sofisticados en este prestigioso restaurante.The chef cooks sophisticated dishes at this prestigious restaurant.
- Esta noche cocino yo. ¿Qué te apetece?I'll cook tonight. What would you like?
- ¿Quién hace de comer hoy?Who's cooking today?
- Mi mamá sabe guisar unos tacos deliciosos.My mom knows how to cook delicious tacos.
- Mi abuela sabe guisar tamales deliciosos.My grandmother knows how to cook delicious tamales.
- ¿Puedes cocinar la cena esta noche?Can you cook dinner tonight?
- 128 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are deciding what to do for dinner.
- LucíaHoy no quiero cocinar.I don't want to cook today.
- MateoYo puedo cocinar algo rápido.I can cook something quickly.
- Lucía¿Qué vas a cocinar, Mateo?What are you going to cook, Mateo?
- MateoVoy a cocinar una pasta.I am going to cook a pasta.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cook” translations and entries cocinar, cocer, nixquear, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cocer, cocinar, nixquear, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
