We Don’t Know How To Cook In Spanish | Say It Right

The natural Spanish sentence is “No sabemos cocinar,” with “sabemos” for “we know” and “cocinar” for “to cook.”

The search phrase We Don’t Know How To Cook In Spanish points to a common trap: English says “know how to,” but Spanish usually does not need cómo in this sentence. The clean translation is No sabemos cocinar. It sounds plain, native, and ready for a dinner invite, class reply, travel chat, or family kitchen joke.

This works because Spanish uses saber before an infinitive to mean having the skill to do something. You can say Sé nadar for “I know how to swim,” Sabemos bailar for “We know how to dance,” and No sabemos cocinar for “We don’t know how to cook.” The sentence is short, but the verb choice does the heavy lifting.

Why Spanish Drops “How” In This Sentence

English uses “know how to” as one unit. Spanish can do the same job with saber plus an infinitive. The verb saber already carries the idea of skill, so adding cómo can make the line sound like you mean “we don’t know the method,” not “we lack the skill.”

Academic definitions of saber include having the ability or capacity to do something. That is the exact grammar pattern behind No sabemos cocinar. The structure is simple: subject, negative word, conjugated saber, then the action in its infinitive form.

The Core Pattern

Build the sentence this way:

• No = not.
• Sabemos = we know.
• Cocinar = to cook.

Put them together and you get No sabemos cocinar. Don’t add a before cocinar. Don’t change cocinar to a conjugated form. The second verb stays in the infinitive because sabemos is already doing the tense work.

Saying We Don’t Know How To Cook In Spanish Without Sounding Stiff

The direct sentence is correct, but tone changes with the situation. A person joking with friends may not speak like a student writing homework. A couple explaining dinner plans may want a softer line. Spanish gives you several natural ways to say it while keeping the same idea.

If you mean “we cannot cook at all,” say No sabemos cocinar. If you mean “we are bad cooks,” say No cocinamos bien. If you mean “we don’t know how to make this dish,” name the dish after hacer or preparar. Small wording shifts keep the meaning honest.

How Tone Changes The Translation

Spanish often sounds better when the sentence matches the moment. At a friend’s house, No sabemos cocinar can feel blunt but fine. In a polite reply, No sabemos cocinar muy bien softens the claim. In a joke, Somos un desastre cocinando gets the laugh without turning into a grammar puzzle.

Food words change the verb too. Cocinar works for the general skill. Preparar feels natural for meals, dishes, or ingredients. Hacer is common with named foods: hacer arroz, hacer sopa, hacer tacos. These choices sound small, but they can make your Spanish feel less translated.

Pronouns are optional in Spanish, so you do not need nosotros before no sabemos cocinar. The ending in sabemos already tells the listener that “we” is the subject. Add nosotros only when you want contrast, such as “we don’t know how to cook, but they do.” The RAE’s entry for saber backs this skill-based reading of the verb.

What You Mean	Best Spanish Line	Why It Works
We lack cooking skill	No sabemos cocinar.	Most direct match for skill.
We cook poorly	No cocinamos bien.	Talks about results, not knowledge.
We can’t make this dish	No sabemos preparar este plato.	Names the task with preparar.
We don’t know the recipe	No sabemos la receta.	Means recipe knowledge, not skill.
We need kitchen help	No sabemos cocinar solos.	Adds that help is needed.
We’re joking	Somos un desastre cocinando.	Sounds playful and casual.
We never learned	Nunca aprendimos a cocinar.	Points to past learning.
We’re not cooks	No somos cocineros.	Talks about identity or role.

When To Use “Cómo” And When To Leave It Out

The word cómo means “how,” so it feels tempting. Yet Spanish does not always map English word for word. You use cómo when the sentence asks about manner, process, or method. You skip it when saber already means “to know how.”

The RAE note on cómo says the accented form appears in direct and indirect questions or exclamations. That is why No sabemos cómo cocinar arroz can work when the meaning is “We don’t know how to cook rice,” meaning the steps are unclear. But for the broad skill, No sabemos cocinar is cleaner.

Two Sentences That Look Similar

No sabemos cocinar means we don’t have the skill. It applies to the whole activity. It is what you would say if someone asks, “Can you two make dinner?”

No sabemos cómo cocinar esto means we don’t know the method for this thing. It suits a new ingredient, a tricky recipe, or a dish you have never made. The cómo points to steps, timing, heat, tools, or order.

For the verb form, sabemos is the present-tense nosotros form of saber. The saber conjugation table shows the same form, along with other subject forms you may need when changing “we” to “I,” “you,” or “they.”

Common Mistakes That Make The Sentence Sound Off

Most errors come from copying English too closely. Spanish likes tight verb pairs, so saber and an infinitive sit side by side. Once you see that pattern, the sentence becomes easier to adjust.

• No sabemos cómo cocinar can be correct, but it often means you don’t know the method, not that you can’t cook.
• No conocemos cocinar is wrong for skill. Conocer fits people, places, and known things, not ability before an infinitive.
• No sabemos a cocinar is wrong because Spanish does not place a after saber in this pattern.
• No somos saber cocinar is not Spanish grammar. Do not mix ser with saber that way.

Subject	Spanish Sentence	English Meaning
I	No sé cocinar.	I don’t know how to cook.
You	No sabes cocinar.	You don’t know how to cook.
He / She	No sabe cocinar.	He or she doesn’t know how to cook.
We	No sabemos cocinar.	We don’t know how to cook.
They	No saben cocinar.	They don’t know how to cook.

How To Make The Line Fit A Real Conversation

Spanish lets you add small details without changing the core grammar. Use todavía if you mean “yet.” Use muy bien if you mean your cooking is limited. Use the dish name if the issue is one meal, not cooking as a whole.

Natural Add-Ons

• No sabemos cocinar todavía. We don’t know how to cook yet.
• No sabemos cocinar muy bien. We don’t know how to cook well.
• No sabemos hacer pasta. We don’t know how to make pasta.
• No sabemos preparar comida mexicana. We don’t know how to prepare Mexican food.

The phrase can also sound softer with la verdad, which means “honestly” or “the truth is.” In a casual reply, La verdad, no sabemos cocinar sounds frank without being rude. In a classroom answer, skip the extra phrase and keep the direct sentence.

A Clean Answer For Learners

The best everyday translation is No sabemos cocinar. Use it when you mean the group lacks cooking skill. Use No sabemos cómo cocinar esto when a recipe or food item is the problem. That one accent mark in cómo changes the sentence from broad ability to method.

Once you learn this pattern, you can swap the action with ease: No sabemos conducir, No sabemos nadar, No sabemos cantar. The grammar stays steady, and the meaning stays clear.