cenar
/θeˈnaɾ/
To eat dinner in Spanish is cenar.
Cenar is a common and versatile verb used to describe the act of eating the main meal of the evening. If you want to specify that you are eating dinner out at a restaurant, you can say cenar fuera.
Which one should you use?
While the verb comer is used to mean 'to eat' in a general sense, cenar is specific to the evening meal.
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, which uses a verb-noun combination, Spanish expresses this idea with the single verb cenar. The first-person singular past tense form is cené (I ate dinner). For the first-person plural, the form cenamos is used for both the present tense (we eat dinner) and the preterite past tense (we ate dinner).
How do you pronounce it?
/θeˈnaɾ/
When do people say it?
When people are about to eat, it is common to say ¡Buen provecho! which means 'Enjoy your meal!'
Did you know?
- If you are 'cenando' in a public place, it is considered polite to say ¡Buen provecho! to people nearby, even if you do not know them.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the time for cenar is much later than in English-speaking countries, often occurring between 9 pm and 11 pm.
- The root of cenar traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker-der, which relates to the concept of cutting or dividing food.
Examples in context
- Ya es hora de cenar.It is already time to eat dinner.This sentence is useful for stating that it is time to use cenar.Tatoeba #7304001 by arh, translation #7305223 by Bond21
- ¿Salimos a cenar hoy?Shall we eat dinner out today?This sentence shows how to use cenar when suggesting eating out.Tatoeba #1334361 by marcelostockle, translation #1334319 by lugal
- ¿Con quién vas a cenar?Who are you going to eat dinner with?This sentence uses cenar to ask about a dining companion.Tatoeba #1385678 by Shishir, translation #1047230 by CK
- Lamentablemente, no podré cenar con usted esta noche.Unfortunately, I won't be able to eat dinner with you tonight.
- Espero que disfrute de la cena en nuestro restaurante.I hope you enjoy dinner at our restaurant.
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are deciding what to do after work.
- Elena¿A qué hora quieres cenar?What time do you want to eat dinner?
- DanielPodemos cenar a las ocho.We can eat dinner at eight.
- ElenaPerfecto, yo preparo la mesa.Perfect, I will set the table.
- DanielGracias, Elena, yo traigo el pan.Thanks, Elena, I will bring the bread.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry cenar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cenar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
