The room in the house where all the cooking is done is called a cucina (feminine, plural: cucine) in Italian.
It is closely related to the verb cucinare which, as you’ve probably guessed, means to cook.
Ho cucinato un pollo in cucina oggi.
I cooked a chicken in the kitchen today.
When talking about the layout of the kitchen, you may find it useful to know some of the following terms:
- credenza = kitchen cabinet
- piano di lavoro / top = kitchen counter
- lavandino = sink
- tavolo da cucina = kitchen table
- cassetto = drawer
- frigorifero = refrigerator
- forno = oven
- fornello = burner
- congelatore = freezer
- lavastoviglie / lavapiatti = dishwasher
Cucina can also refer more specifically to the furniture and fittings that make up the kitchen. If you hear an Italian say that his rented accommodation comes without a kitchen (senza cucina), he isn’t saying that the room doesn’t exist, but rather that it isn’t yet equipped.
Questo appartamento è semi-arredato e la cucina è nuova di zecca.
This apartment is partly furnished and the kitchen is brand new.
A third meaning of cucina is cooking or cuisine.
La cucina italiana è la mia preferita in assoluto.
Italian cuisine is my absolute favourite.
Finally, cucina can refer specifically to the stove or range where the cooking is done.
Mia nonna usa una vecchia cucina con quattro fornelli.
My grandmother uses an old stove with four burners.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
