Meaning
to look for
- to try
In a sentence
Cerco le chiavi della macchina.
I'm looking for the car keys.
Hai cercato di chiamarmi ieri sera?
Did you try to call me last night?
Cerco il mio libro.
I'm looking for my book.
Word forms (48)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| cercare | infinitive |
| cerchiamo | indicative · present · plural · 1st person |
| cerco | indicative · present · singular · 1st person |
| cercate | indicative · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cerchi | indicative · present · singular · 2nd person |
| cercano | indicative · present · plural · 3rd person |
| cerca | indicative · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cercavamo | indicative · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| cercavo | indicative · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| cercavate | indicative · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| cercavi | indicative · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| cercavano | indicative · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| cercava | indicative · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| cercammo | indicative · past · plural · 1st person |
| cercai | indicative · past · singular · 1st person |
| cercaste | indicative · past · plural · 2nd person |
| cercasti | indicative · past · singular · 2nd person |
| cercarono | indicative · past · plural · 3rd person |
| cercò | indicative · past · singular · 3rd person |
| cercheremo | indicative · future · plural · 1st person |
| cercherò | indicative · future · singular · 1st person |
| cercherete | indicative · future · plural · 2nd person |
| cercherai | indicative · future · singular · 2nd person |
| cercheranno | indicative · future · plural · 3rd person |
| cercherà | indicative · future · singular · 3rd person |
| cerchiamo | subjunctive · present · plural · 1st person |
| cerchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 1st person |
| cerchiate | subjunctive · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cerchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 2nd person |
| cerchino | subjunctive · present · plural · 3rd person |
| cerchi | subjunctive · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cercassimo | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 1st person |
| cercassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 1st person |
| cercaste | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 2nd person |
| cercassi | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 2nd person |
| cercassero | subjunctive · imperfect · plural · 3rd person |
| cercasse | subjunctive · imperfect · singular · 3rd person |
| cercheremmo | conditional · present · plural · 1st person |
| cercherei | conditional · present · singular · 1st person |
| cerchereste | conditional · present · plural · 2nd person |
| cercheresti | conditional · present · singular · 2nd person |
| cercherebbero | conditional · present · plural · 3rd person |
| cercherebbe | conditional · present · singular · 3rd person |
| cerchiamo | imperative · plural · 1st person |
| cercate | imperative · plural · 2nd person |
| cerca | imperative · singular · 2nd person |
| cercando | gerund |
| cercato | past · participle |
Usage notes
- Use 'cercare' for general searching; 'trovare' means 'to find' (result). Don’t confuse them.
- Auxiliary is 'avere' in compound tenses (ho cercato), never 'essere'.
- Informal: 'cerca di' + infinitive = 'try to'. Avoid 'provare' for effort in this context.