Fala Gringo › Verbs › cozinhar
cozinhar — to cook
Full conjugation of cozinhar in the tenses that matter for everyday speech, with pronunciation hints in the Rio (carioca) accent and example sentences the way Brazilians actually talk — not textbook European Portuguese.
How to use cozinhar in Brazilian Portuguese
Cozinhar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to cook. It is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings there are no surprises.
Three tenses do almost all the work in conversation. The presente covers the present and the near future: eu cozinho — I cook. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu cozinhei — I cooked. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu cozinhava — I used to cook / was cooking.
Said the Rio way, cozinho sounds like koh-ZEE-nyoo. The nós form cozinhamos ends in the carioca “sh”, koh-zee-NYAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | cozinhoI cook | koh-ZEE-nyoo | Eu cozinho em casa toda semana. |
| você / ele / ela | cozinhayou cook | koh-ZEE-nyah | Você cozinha ou pede comida? |
| nós | cozinhamoswe cook | koh-zee-NYAH-moosh | Nós cozinhamos pra família no domingo. |
| vocês / eles / elas | cozinhamyou all cook | koh-ZEE-nyahng | Vocês cozinham juntos? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | cozinheiI cooked | koh-zee-NYAY | Eu cozinhei macarrão para o jantar. |
| você / ele / ela | cozinhouyou cooked | koh-zee-NYOH | Você cozinhou hoje? |
| nós | cozinhamoswe cooked | koh-zee-NYAH-moosh | Nós cozinhamos juntos no fim de semana. |
| vocês / eles / elas | cozinharamyou all cooked | koh-zee-NYAH-rahng | Vocês cozinharam algo diferente? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | cozinhavaI used to cook / was cooking | koh-zee-NYAH-vah | Eu cozinhava para a família inteira. |
| você / ele / ela | cozinhavayou used to cook / were cooking | koh-zee-NYAH-vah | Você cozinhava em casa todo dia? |
| nós | cozinhávamoswe used to cook / were cooking | koh-zee-NYAH-vah-moosh | Nós cozinhávamos juntos nos fins de semana. |
| vocês / eles / elas | cozinhavamyou all used to cook | koh-zee-NYAH-vahng | Vocês cozinhavam a própria comida? |
More “Rotina e lazer” verbs
- comer to eat
- beber to drink
- tomar to take (a shower, a coffee, medicine)
- almoçar to have lunch
- jantar to have dinner
- assistir to watch
- escutar to listen (actively)
- dançar to dance
- viajar to travel
- descansar to rest
- praticar to practice
- treinar to train
- curtir to enjoy (slang)
- aproveitar to make the most of, to take advantage of
- frequentar to attend, to go regularly
- jogar to play (sports), to throw
- torcer to root for, to cheer (for a team)
- brincar to play (kids), to joke
- nadar to swim
- passear to go for a walk, to stroll
- ganhar to win, to earn
- perder to lose