The verb cuocere is a normal ho-hum verb about cooking, but that is not all it has to offer.
Nel frattempo che la pasta si cuoce, cuociamo il pomodoro.
Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, we'll cook the tomatoes.
Caption 29, In cucina con Antonino Episodio 4: il coltivatore del pomodorino del
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When something is cooked, è cotto. It's worth noting that cuocere is an irregular verb. Check out its conjugation chart. An archaic version of cuocere is cocere, which allows the irregularities to make more sense. We might liken this verb to muovere (to move) in terms of conjugation, with its participle mosso.
If you like your meat well done, ben cotto is what you will ask the waiter for.
È ben cotto, come piace a te.
It's well-done, just like you like it.
Caption 70, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 10
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Sì, perché deve essere cotto al punto giusto, ma stavamo parlando anche della cottura delle patate
Yes, because it must be cooked to perfection, but we were also talking about the cooking of the potatoes
Captions 49-50, JAMS S1 EP7 - Part 3
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When we talk about cottura, we often talk about tempo di cottura (cooking time), such as on a package of pasta. Every type of pasta has a different tempo di cottura. Or we talk about cooking method: il tipo di cottura.
Cuocere is a transitive verb. We cook something. But if we just cook, we can use the verb cucinare (to cook).
Insegnami a cucinare.
Teach me to cook.
Caption 27, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP3 I giardini della memoria - Part 22
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Who does the cooking? Il cuoco (the cook, the chef).
Mi piacerebbe diventare cuoco.
I'd like to become a chef.
Caption 20, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 18
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The verb cuocere can be used figuratively, too. Quando prendi una cotta, (when you get cooked), you are head over heels in love with someone or you have a crush on someone. Cuocere is "to cook." And we use the verb prendere (to take, to get), usually in its reflexive form.
Mi sa che qui qualcuno si è preso una cotta per te, eh.
I think that someone has a crush on you, huh.
Caption 60, JAMS S1 EP2 - Part 5
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È cotto marcio. -Totale.
He is cooked rotten [madly in love]. -Totally.
Captions 1-2, Provaci ancora prof! S3 EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 27
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Il cotto is a kind of tile, made of terracotta or earthenware. It is very popular in Italy for floors, both indoors and outdoors. Il cotto is also a regional, abbreviated way of referring to cooked ham — prosciutto cotto.
Let's not forget our S prefix. Scottare can mean to blanch something in water with its synonym, sbollentare. The verb "bollentare" without the s-prefix doesn't seem to exist, but we can see that sbollentare comes from bollire (to boil).
Seicento grammi di castagne sbollentate,
Six hundred grams of blanched chestnuts,
Caption 6, Ricette di Natale Il Monte Bianco
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Scottare can also mean "to burn," or "to sear." As an adjective, scotto means overcooked.
Quindi gli han fatto mangiare risotto freddo scotto? -Sì, sì.
So they made them eat cold, overcooked risotto? -Yes, yes.
Caption 12, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 10
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Sbollire, on the other hand, has to do with calming down. In English, we have the expression "Simmer down." Of course, if we are talking about cooking, then whatever was boiling has to cool down.
Ho creduto fosse meglio fargli sbollire la rabbia, tanto prima o poi mi avrebbe richiamata.
I thought it best to give him time to let him calm down his anger, as, sooner or later, he would have called me back.
Captions 13-14, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 7
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There is also a kind of beef called la scottona, which is a young female bovine that has never been impregnated. She may be in heat, and that might be where the term scottona comes from (no one really knows).
Ad esempio la Fiorentina che è carne di vitello [sic: vitellone] o di scottona cotta alla brace o alla griglia.
For example, the Fiorentina (steak) which is veal [young beef] or young female bovine grilled or broiled.
Captions 49-50, L'Italia a tavola Interrogazione sulla Toscana
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A good expression with cuocere is lasciare cuocere nel suo brodo. Or, more properly, lasciare cuocere nel proprio brodo (to let someone cook in his own broth). It is used when you decide to let someone make their own decisions without interfering or influencing them (although often, you think they are not making the right decision). They'll make their own bed and lie in it. Or you might just be letting them think things over on their own.
We hope you now have a new way of looking at the humble verb cuocere. Have we forgotten any connections? Let us know at [email protected].
Over time, we've looked at various Italian prefixes and here is one more: pro-. We often don't think about it because pro- can simply be part of a word. But in many cases, there is a good chance the root exists as a word on its own. In a recent video on Yabla, the verb provenire came up. A reader asked: "What's the difference between venire and provenire?" Great question.
The answer is that provenire (while technically an action verb) has to do with the origin of something, whereas venire is an action, a movement in the direction of the speaker, writer, or interlocutor. In English, we do have the noun "provenance," from the Latin meaning "to come forth," but we usually translate provenire as "to come from," or "to originate from." So if we think of the prefix pro- meaning "forward" or "forth," it might help us remember these words.
Penso che non ho tempo per fare la badante a nessuno, quindi tu organizza gli incontri e io vedo se riesco a venire.
I think I don't have time to be a babysitter for anyone, so you organize the meetings and I'll see if I can come.
Captions 56-57, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 2
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Ora stanno cercando di capire da dove provengono...
Now they are trying to figure out where they come from...
Caption 49, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 22
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E be', non fargli vedere il tuo libretto degli esami perché...
Well, don't let her see your exam record because...
Caption 27, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 6
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We can now see the connection between "provide" and provvedere, but we can also see the word vedere (to see), and so it makes sense to translate provvedere as "to see to." It can also be "to take care of."
Lo so, ho avuto tanto da fare. Domani provvedo, va bene?
I know. I have had a lot to do. Tomorrow I will see to it, all right?
Caption 39, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP1 I Bastardi - Part 17
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Sei capace di studiare, sacrificarti, passare le notti insonni, mettere tutta la tua vita a servizio della musica, sei capace?
Are you capable of studying, sacrificing yourself, spending sleepless nights, putting your whole life at the service of music, are you capable?
Captions 31-33, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 7
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Ma Lei mi deve promettere una cosa.
But you have to promise me one thing:
Caption 23, Moscati, l'amore che guarisce EP1 - Part 18
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The noun form is la promessa (the promise).
Dobbiamo porre nella teglia il pollo con le patate a spicchi,
In the pan, we have to place the chicken with the potato wedges,
Captions 6-7, JAMS S1 EP7 - Part 3
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Porre can also be reflexive, with a more figurative meaning of considering something.
Seconda cosa, visto che una è partita e l'altra si è fidanzata, io non mi pongo il problema, capito?
Second of all, since one is gone and the other is engaged, I don't consider the problem, you understand?
Captions 5-7, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 11
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Proporre is to put forth, as with an idea.
Bene. Cosa propone?
Good. What do you propose?
Caption 43, Il Commissario Manara S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi - Part 10
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The noun form is la proposta (the proposal, the suggestion).
Although trarre is another word for tirare (to pull) it's frequently used in a figurative sense, as in drawing a conclusion or gaining an advantage.
Ma stavolta proprio il senso di colpa gli ha fatto trarre delle conclusioni affrettate,
But this time his guilty conscience made him draw hasty conclusions,
Captions 73-74, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 20
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Protrarre is used to refer to prolonging something over time.
La costruzione della Fortezza di Fenestrelle, iniziata nel millesettecentoventotto, si protrarrà per centoventi anni.
The construction of the Fenestrelle Fortress, begun in seventeen hundred and twenty-eight, would continue on for a hundred and twenty years.
Captions 14-16, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 4
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The reflexive form of the verb muovere is used here: muoversi.
Non ti muovere.
Don't move.
Caption 47, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP4 Gelo - Part 13
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When you move forward in school, from one grade to the next, the verb is promuovere. It can be used as well, just as in English, when you promote someone or something, giving them publicity.
Com'è andata? -Mi hanno promosso.
How did it go? -They promoted me.
Caption 2, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 23
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We talk about these verbs in this lesson.
The prefix pro- can also mean "entirely" — interamente. In the case of prosciutto (cured ham), it has to do with salting and drying: pro - asciutto (dry). The verb is prosciugare, to dry entirely. Prosciogliere is "to dissolve completely."
Thanks for reading. We hope you've gotten the idea of the prefix pro-. If you think of other words with this prefix, please let us know, and we'll add them to the lesson.
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