Down below you find the table of conjugations for the verbs готовить and приготовить. In English the translation means ‘to cook/prepare’.
готовить / приготовить conjugation in Russian
The stress of each word is on the bolded parts. Try saying the words out loud while you read to make sure they ‘stick’ in your memory.
| Imperfective Aspect | Perfective Aspect | |
| Infinitive Form | готовить | приготовить |
| Present Tense | ||
| я – 1st Person Singular | готовлю | |
| ты – 2nd Person Singular | готовишь | |
| он/она/оно – 3rd Person Singular | готовит | |
| мы – 1st Person Plural | готовим | |
| вы – 2nd Person Plural | готовите | |
| они – 3rd Person Plural | готовят | |
| Past Tense | ||
| он – Masculine | готовил | приготовил |
| она – Feminine | готовила | приготовила |
| оно – Neuter | готовило | приготовило |
| они/мы/вы – Plural | готовили | приготовили |
| Future Tense | ||
| я – 1st Person Singular | буду готовить | приготовлю |
| ты– 2nd Person Singular | будешь готовить | приготовишь |
| он/она/оно – 3rd Person Singular | будет готовить | приготовит |
| мы – 1st Person Plural | будем готовить | приготовим |
| вы – 2nd Person Plural | будете готовить | приготовите |
| они – 3rd Person Plural | будут готовить | приготовят |
| Imperative Form | ||
| ты – Informal | готовь | приготовь |
| вы – Polite | готовьте | приготовьте |
How to use готовить in Russian?
Everywhere you would use ‘cook’ or ‘prepare’ in English, you can use готовить in Russian. This may seem a little weird, but in English you can also often switch ‘cook dinner’ for ‘prepare dinner’. You don’t use готовить for ‘cooking’ in the meaning of ‘boiling’.
Examples of готовить / приготовить conjugation
While reading the examples below, try saying them out loud. That will do wonders for your ability to speak Russian well. If you’re in a public place and it would be a little awkward to say Russian words, try to pronounce the sentences in your head.
If you make this into a habit to always pronounce Russian words while you read them, your speaking skills will improve 5 times faster than if you would not do this. It’s a small action that brings big results.
| Russian example | English translation |
|---|---|
| Японцы умеют готовить хорошие суши | The Japanese can cook good sushi |
| Вы можете приготовить ужин сегодня вечером? | Can you cook dinner tonight? |
| Я готовлю пасту | I cook pasta |
| Завтра приготовлю пасту | I will cook pasta tomorrow |
| Ты готовишь ужин сегодня | You make dinner today |
| Ты приготовишь ужин сегодня | You will make dinner today |
| Он готовит мясо на мангале | He prepares meat on the BBQ |
| Мы приготовим еду на день рождения | We will prepare food for the birthday |
| Ты приготовил подарок маме? | Did you prepare a present for your mom? |
| Моя девушка готовила завтрак каждый день во время праздников | My girlfriend made breakfast every day during the holidays |
| Приготовь ужин, или я пойду поесть Макдональдс | Prepare dinner or I’ll go out to eat McDonalds |
| Мы готовили для друзей | We cooked for friends |
| Он готовил прошлым летом | He cooked last summer |
| Ты готовила на выходных | You cooked on the weekend |
| Я готовил вчера | I cooked yesterday |
| Они готовят свадьбу | They are preparing a wedding |
| Вы готовите выходные | You are preparing the weekend |
| Мы готовим вечеринку | We are preparing a party |
| Он готовит завтрак | He’s cooking breakfast |
| Ты готовишь ужин | You are making dinner |
| Я готовлю обед | I’m making lunch |
What should you do next?
Most learners don't struggle because Russian is "too hard."
They struggle because they don't train speaking directly.
- You can study vocabulary
- you can memorize Grammar
- You can listen for hours
But if you don't practice building sentences in real time, you'll still struggle when someone speaks to you.
One of my students once told me:
“I have been studying Russian for a year. In my head I can prepare basic sentences, yet when it comes to actually speaking I ‘chock’.”That's not a knowledge problem.
That’s a training problem.
Your weakest skill determins your conversational level.
And for most learners, that weakest skill is speaking.
That's why I built Russian Conversations Unlocked - a structured 30-lesson audio course designed to train real-time speaking ability step by step.
If you want to have real conversations in Russian, start here:
J’apprends le russe.
et je ne parle pas français!