| Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - A-F | ||
|---|---|---|
| INFINITIV | PRÄTERITUM (Preterite) | PERFEKT (Past Participle) |
| A A A | ||
| anfangen begin | fing an began | angefangen begun |
| ankommen arrive | kam an arrived | ist angekommen arrived |
| anrufen call up | rief an called up | angerufen called up |
| B B B | ||
| backen bake | backte baked | gebacken baked |
| befehlen command | befahl commanded | befohlen commanded |
| beginnen begin | begann began | begonnen begun |
| beißen bite | biss bit | gebissen bitten |
| bekommen get, receive | bekam got | bekommen gotten |
| bergen salvage | barg salvaged | geborgen salvaged |
| bersten burst | barst burst | geborsten burst |
| betrügen deceive | betrog deceived | betrogen deceived |
| biegen bend | bog bent | gebogen bent |
| bieten offer | bot offered | geboten offered |
| binden tie | band tied | gebunden tied |
| bitten request | bat requested | gebeten requested |
| blasen blow | blies blew | geblasen blown |
| See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-ie-a, a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. | ||
| bleiben stay | blieb stayed | ist geblieben stayed |
| bleichen bleach | blich bleached | geblichen bleached |
| braten roast | briet roasted | gebraten roasted |
| brechen break | brach broke | gebrochen broken |
| brennen* burn | brannte burned | gebrannt burned |
| bringen* bring | brachte brought | gebracht brought |
| *Both brennen and bringen are "mixed" verbs, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. | ||
| D D D | ||
| denken* think | dachte thought | gedacht thought |
| *The verb denken is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. | ||
| dreschen thresh | drosch threshed | gedroschen threshed |
| dringen force | drang forced | gedrungen forced |
| dürfen may | durfte was allowed | gedurft* been allowed |
| *Used with an infinitive, as for all modals, the past participle is the infinitive dürfen: "Wir haben nicht gehen dürfen." | ||
| E E E | ||
| empfangen receive | empfing received | empfangen received |
| empfehlen recommend | empfahl recommended | empfohlen recommended |
| erfinden invent | erfand invented | erfunden invented |
| erlöschen extinguish | erlosch extinguished | erloschen extinguished |
| erschallen echo, sound | erscholl sounded | erschollen sounded |
| erschrecken* scare | erschrak scared | erschrocken scared |
| *This verb has both strong (passive) and weak (active) forms: "Ich habe ihn erschreckt." (I scared him.) and "Ich erschrak bei der Explosion." (I was startled/scared by the explosion.) | ||
| essen eat | aß ate | gegessen eaten |
| F F F | ||
| fahren travel | fuhr traveled | ist gefahren traveled |
| fallen fall | fiel fell | ist gefallen fallen |
| fangen catch | fing caught | gefangen caught |
| fechten fence | focht fenced | gefochten fenced |
| finden find | fand found | gefunden found |
| fliegen fly | flog flew | ist geflogen flown |
| fliehen flee | floh fled | ist geflohen fled |
| fließen flow | floss flowed | ist geflossen flowed |
| fressen gorge | fraß gorged | gefressen gorged |
| frieren freeze | fror froze | gefroren* frozen |
| *The verb frieren takes the helping verb haben or sein, depending on its meaning. In most cases ("to be cold") it is "hat gefroren," but in the meaning of "to freeze, turn into ice," it is "Der Boden / Das Wasser ist steif gefroren." (The ground / water has frozen solid.) | ||
| frohlocken rejoice | frohlockte rejoiced | frohlockt rejoiced |
| Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - G-M | ||
|---|---|---|
| INFINITIV | PRÄTERITUM (Preterite) | PERFEKT (Past Participle) |
| G | ||
| gären ferment | gor fermented | gegoren fermented |
| gebären bear (child) | gebar bore | geboren born |
| geben give | gab gave | gegeben given |
| gedeihen flourish | gedieh flourished | ist gediehen flourished |
| gefallen be pleasing, like | gefiel liked | gefallen liked |
| gehen go | ging went | ist gegangen gone |
| gelingen succeed | gelang succeeded | ist gelungen succeeded |
| gelten be valid | galt was valid | gegolten been valid |
| genesen recover | genas recovered | genesen recovered |
| genießen enjoy | genoß enjoyed | genossen enjoyed |
| geschehen happen | geschah happened | ist geschehen happened |
| gewinnen win | gewann won | gewonnen won |
| gießen pour | goß poured | gegossen poured |
| gleichen resemble | glich resembled | geglichen resembled |
| gleiten glide, slide | glitt glided | ist geglitten glided |
| glimmen glow, smoulder | glomm* glowed | ist geglommen* glowed |
| *Also glimmte and hat geglimmt (weak) | ||
| graben dig | grub dug | gegraben dug |
| greifen grasp | griff grasped | gegriffen grasped |
| H | ||
| haben have | hatte had | gehabt had |
| For the complete conjugation of the verb haben in the present tense, see Lesson 4 of German for Beginners. | ||
| halten hold | hielt held | gehalten held |
| hängen hang | hing hung/hanged* | gehangen hung/hanged* |
| *The verb hängen is weak in transitive situations ("Er hängte das Bild an die Wand.") and strong in intransitive situations ("Das Bild hing an der Wand."). | ||
| hauen hew, hit | haute* hit | gehauen hit |
| *The strong past form hieb is used when the meaning is "struck (him) with a weapon." | ||
| heben lift | hob lifted | gehoben lifted |
| heißen be called | hieß named | geheißen named |
| helfen help | half helped | geholfen helped |
| See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. | ||
| K | ||
| kennen* know | kannte knew | gekannt known |
| *The verb kennen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. | ||
| klingen ring | klang rang | geklungen rung |
| kneifen pinch | kniff pinched | gekniffen pinched |
| kommen come | kam came | ist gekommen come |
| können can | konnte could | gekonnt* could |
| *With an infinitive, the past participle is können: "Ich habe nicht gehen können." | ||
| kriechen crawl | kroch crawled | ist gekrochen crawled |
| L | ||
| laden load | lud loaded | geladen loaded |
| lassen let, allow | ließ let | gelassen let |
| laufen run | lief ran | ist gelaufen run |
| leiden suffer | litt suffered | gelitten suffered |
| leihen lend | lieh lent | geliehen lent |
| lesen read | las read | gelesen read |
| liegen* lie | lag lay | gelegen lain |
| *Do not confuse liegen (lie, recline, strong) and (sich) legen (lay, put, weak)! | ||
| lügen lie | log lied | gelogen lied |
| M | ||
| mahlen grind | mahlte ground | gemahlen ground |
| meiden avoid | mied avoided | gemieden avoided |
| messen measure | maß measured | gemessen measured |
| misslingen fail | misslang failed | misslungen failed |
| mögen like | mochte liked | gemocht* liked |
| *With an infinitive, the past participle is mögen: "Sie hat nicht gehen mögen." | ||
| müssen must | musste had to | gemusst* had to |
| *Used with an infinitive, as with all modals, the past participle is the infinitive müssen: "Wir haben nicht gehen müssen." | ||
| Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - N-Schw | ||
|---|---|---|
| INFINITIV | PRÄTERITUM (Preterite) | PERFEKT (Past Participle) |
| N | ||
| nehmen take | nahm took | genommen taken |
| nennen name | nannte named | genannt named |
| P | ||
| pfeifen whistle | pfiff whistled | gepfiffen whistled |
| preisen praise | pries praised | gepriesen praised |
| Q | ||
| quellen gush | quoll* gushed | ist gequollen* gushed |
| *Also has the weak forms quellte and hat gequellt. | ||
| R | ||
| raten advise | riet advised | geraten advised |
| reiben rub | rieb rubbed | gerieben rubbed |
| reißen tear | riss tore | gerissen torn |
| reiten* ride | ritt rode | ist geritten ridden |
| *The verb reiten is only used for riding an animal (e.g., horseback riding); to express "ride" in a transportation sense (bus, train, etc.), fahren is used. | ||
| rennen run | rannte ran | ist gerannt run |
| *The verb rennen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. | ||
| riechen smell | roch smelled | gerochen smelled |
| ringen wring | rang wrung | gerungen wrung |
| rinnen flow | rann flowed | ist geronnen flowed |
| rufen call | rief called | gerufen called |
| S | ||
| salzen salt | salzte salted | gesalzen/gesalzt salted |
| saufen drink | soff drank | gesoffen drunk |
| saugen suck | sog* sucked | gesogen* sucked |
| * Also has the weak forms saugte and hat gesaugt. In technical use, only the weak form is used. | ||
| schaffen create; accomplish, make | schuf* created | geschaffen* created |
| *The strong forms schuf/hat geschaffen are used when the meaning is "created" ("Sie hat schöne Sachen geschaffen."). To express "accomplished" or "made it," the weak forms schaffte/hat geschafft are used: "Er hat es geschafft (ein Tor zu machen)!" | ||
| scheiden depart; separate | schied separated | geschieden* separated |
| *In the sense of "leave" or "depart" scheiden takes sein as a helping verb: "Karl ist aus dem Dienst geschieden." | ||
| scheinen shine | schien shone | geschienen shone |
| scheißen shit | schiss shit | geschissen shit |
| schelten scold | schalt scolded | gescholten scolded |
| schießen shoot | schoss shot | geschossen shot |
| See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. | ||
| schlafen sleep | schlief slept | geschlafen slept |
| schlagen hit | schlug hit | geschlagen hit |
| schleichen sneak | schlich sneaked | ist geschlichen sneaked |
| schleifen polish | schliff* polished | geschliffen* polished |
| *Although the strong form is preferred, schleifte and hat geschleift (weak) are also used. | ||
| schleißen slit | schliß slit | geschlissen slit |
| schließen close, lock | schloss closed | geschlossen closed |
| schlingen gulp (down) | schlang gulped | geschlungen gulped |
| schmeißen fling, toss | schmiss flung | geschmissen flung |
| schmelzen melt | schmolz melted | geschmolzen melted |
| schneiden cut | schnitt cut | geschnitten cut |
| schrecken scare | schrak/schreckte scared | geschreckt/geschrocken scared |
| schreiben write | schrieb wrote | geschrieben written |
| schreien scream | schrie screamed | geschrien screamed |
| schreiten step | schritt stepped | ist geschritten stepped |
| schweigen be silent | schwieg was silent | geschwiegen been silent |
| schwellen* swell, rise | schwoll swelled | ist geschwollen swollen |
| *There are two forms of schwellen: (1) strong (above) for the sense of "to swell up/fill with wind," and (2) weak to "fill (something) up with wind/to swell (something) up." | ||
| schwimmen swim | schwamm swam | ist geschwommen swum |
| schwinden dwindle | schwand dwindled | ist geschwunden dwindled |
| schwingen swing | schwang swung | geschwungen swung |
| schwören swear | schwur/schwor swore | geschworen sworn |
| Starke Verben - Strong Verbs - Se-Z | ||
| INFINITIV | PRÄTERITUM (Preterite) | PERFEKT (Past Participle) |
| Se | ||
|---|---|---|
| sehen see | sah saw | gesehen seen |
| sein be | war was | ist gewesen been |
| For the conjugation of sein in the present tense, see Lesson 4 of German for Beginners. | ||
| senden* send, transmit | sandte sent | gesandt sent |
| *In the sense of "transmit" or "broadcast" only the weak forms sendete and hat gesendet are used. The weak forms may also be used in the sense of "send." | ||
| sieden boil | sott/siedete boiled | gesotten boiled |
| singen sing | sang sang | gesungen sung |
| sinken sink | sank sank | ist gesunken sunk |
| sitzen* sit | saß sat | gesessen sat |
| *Do not confuse sitzen (sit, strong) and (sich) setzen (set, weak)! | ||
| sollen should, ought to | sollte should | gesollt* should |
| *With an infinitive, the past participle is sollen: "Ich habe nicht gehen sollen." | ||
| spalten split | spaltete split | gespalten/gespaltet split |
| speien spew | spie spewed | gespien spewed |
| spinnen spin | spann spun | gesponnen spun |
| sprechen speak | sprach spoke | gesprochen spoken |
| sprießen sprout | spross sprouted | gesprossen sprouted |
| springen jump | sprang jumped | ist gesprungen jumped |
| stechen stab, sting | stach stung | gestochen stung |
| stehen stand | stand stood | gestanden* stood |
| *In some southern German and Austrian dialects, stehen takes sein as a helping verb: "Er ist im Eingang gestanden." | ||
| stehlen steal | stahl stole | gestohlen stolen |
| steigen climb | stieg climbed | ist gestiegen climbed |
| sterben die | starb died | ist gestorben died |
| stieben fly about | stob flew about | ist gestoben flown about |
| stinken stink | stank stank | gestunken stunk |
| stoßen push, bump | stieß pushed | gestoßen pushed |
| streichen strike, paint | strich struck | gestrichen struck |
| streiten argue | stritt argued | gestritten argued |
| See the ablaut groups for learning the various patterns (a-u-a, e-a-o, etc.) of German strong verbs. | ||
| T | ||
| tragen carry, wear | trug wore | getragen worn |
| treffen meet | traf met | getroffen met |
| treiben move, drive | trieb drove | getrieben* driven |
| *In the sense of "drift" or "float" treiben takes sein as a helping verb: "Das Eis ist den Fluss entlang getrieben." | ||
| triefen drip | triefte/troff dripped | getrieft dripped |
| trinken drink | trank drank | getrunken drunk |
| trügen be deceptive | trog was deceptive | getrogen been deceptive |
| tun do | tat did | getan done |
| U | ||
| überwinden overcome | überwand overcame | überwunden overcome |
| V | ||
| verderben spoil | verdarb spoiled | verdorben spoiled |
| verdrießen annoy | verdross annoyed | verdrossen annoyed |
| vergessen forget | vergaß forgot | vergessen forgotten |
| verlieren lose | verlor lost | verloren lost |
| verschleißen wear (out) | verschliss wore (out) | verschlissen worn (out) |
| verzeihen forgive | verzieh forgave | verziehen forgiven |
| W | ||
| wachsen* grow | wuchs grew | ist gewachsen grown |
| *In the sense of "to wax" (skis, etc.), wachsen is weak: (wachste and hat gewachst). | ||
| waschsen wash | wusch washed | gewaschsen washed |
| weben weave | wob/webte wove | gewoben/gewebt woven |
| weichen* yield | wich yielded | ist gewichen yielded |
| *In the sense of "to soften" (up), weichen is weak: (weichte and hat geweicht). | ||
| weisen indicate | wies indicated | gewiesen indicated |
| wenden turn | wandte* turned | gewandt* turned |
| *Also wendete and gewendet (car, hay, etc.). | ||
| werben recruit | warb recruited | geworben recruited |
| werden become | wurde became | ist geworden* become |
| *As a helping verb in the passive voice: worden, as in "Ich bin oft gefragt worden." (I have often been asked.) | ||
| werfen throw | warf threw | geworfen thrown |
| wiegen weigh | wog/wiegte weighed | gewogen/gewiegt weighed |
| winden twist | wand twisted | gewunden twisted |
| wissen* know | wusste knew | gewusst known |
| *The verb wissen is a "mixed" verb, combining elements of strong and weak verbs. For more see our Mixed Verbs page. - For the complete conjugation of wissen in all tenses, see wissen in our conjugation tables. | ||
| wollen want to | wollte wanted to | gewollt* wanted to |
| *With an infinitive, the past participle is wollen: "Ich habe nicht gehen wollen." | ||
| wringen wring | wrang wrung | gewrungen wrung |
| Z | ||
| zeihen accuse | zieh accused | geziehen accused |
| ziehen pull | zog pulled | gezogen pulled |
| zwingen compel | zwang compelled | gezwungen compelled |
NEXT > G-M
MORE > A-F G-M N-Schw Se-Z Examples
MORE > Verb-Lexikon - All verbs (index)
| Ablaut Classes - Alphabetical List German Strong-Verb Vowel Patterns | |
| a - ie - a (Class 7) | ei - i - i (Class 1a) |
| a - u - a (Class 6) | ei - ie - ie (Class 1b) |
| e - a - e (Class 5) | i - a - o/u (Class 3a) |
| e - a - o (Class 3b/4) | ie - o - o (Class 2) |
| e - o - o (Class 3b/4) | [x] - ie - [x] (Class 7) |
| Mixed Verbs combine weak and strong elements | |
| Ablaut Classes 1-7 | |
