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German irregular verbs: a table with audio

Infinitiv, Präsens, Präteritum and Perfekt of the most useful strong and mixed verbs — with translations. Tap a form to hear it, then test yourself in the trainer.

  • 90 verbs
  • Top 48
  • Perfekt with hat / ist
  • Audio
  • No sign-up
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German irregular verbs table

Third-person forms (er, sie, es). Search by any form or translation; tap a word or the speaker to listen.

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Showing 90 of 90

German irregular verbs table
InfinitivPräsens (er)PräteritumPerfektTranslation
to bake
to begin
to offer
to ask, to request
to stay
to break
to burn
to bring
to think
may, to be allowed to
to recommend
to eat
to drive, to go (by vehicle)
to fall
to catch
to find
to fly
to flow
to freeze, to be cold
to give
to go, to walk
to be valid, to count as
to enjoy
to happen
to win
to pour, to water
to grab
to have
to hold; to stop
to hang (be hanging)
to lift
to be called
to help
to know (be familiar with)
to sound
to come
can, to be able to
to load; to charge
to leave; to let
to run; to walk
to suffer
to lend, to borrow
to read
to lie (be lying)
to lie (tell a lie)
to measure
to like
must, to have to
to take
to name, to call
to advise; to guess
to run
to smell
to call
to shine; to seem
to sleep
to hit
to close
to cut
to write
to scream
to be silent
to swim
to see
to be
to send
to sing
to sit (be sitting)
should, to be supposed to
to speak
to jump
to stand
to steal
to climb; to get on
to die
to carry; to wear
to meet
to drive; to do (sport)
to drink
to do
to forget
to lose
to understand
to grow
to wash
to become
to throw
to know (a fact)
to want
to pull; to move (house)

Präsens shows only the er/sie/es form — that’s where the stem changes (fahren → fährt, sehen → sieht). « / » separates two correct variants.

How to remember them: vowel groups

Strong verbs change their stem vowel in a few patterns. Learn them in groups — it’s easier.

  • ei – ie – ie

    bleiben – blieb – geblieben, schreiben – schrieb – geschrieben

  • ie – o – o

    fliegen – flog – geflogen, verlieren – verlor – verloren

  • i – a – u

    finden – fand – gefunden, trinken – trank – getrunken

  • e – a – o

    helfen – half – geholfen, sprechen – sprach – gesprochen

  • e – a – e

    geben – gab – gegeben, sehen – sah – gesehen

  • a – u – a

    fahren – fuhr – gefahren, tragen – trug – getragen

  • a – ie – a

    schlafen – schlief – geschlafen, fallen – fiel – gefallen

  • mixed

    bringen – brachte – gebracht, denken – dachte – gedacht: the vowel changes, but the endings are weak (-te, -t)

Trainer: test yourself

10 verbs per round. After each answer the right forms are read aloud and shown.

Choose an exercise

How to learn irregular verbs

  • Start with the top 48: sein, haben, werden, the modal verbs and the ones you hear every day.
  • Learn the Perfekt with its auxiliary: ist gegangen, hat gegessen. Sein goes with movement and change of state.
  • Don’t skip the Präsens: many strong verbs change their stem in the du/er form (fahren → fährt, nehmen → nimmt).
  • 10 verbs a day: listen, repeat aloud and do the trainer.

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

How many irregular verbs does German have?

There are about 200 strong and irregular verbs, but 50–70 of them come up all the time. Most of the rest are prefixed versions (an-, auf-, ver-) that change the same way: fangen → anfangen, stehen → verstehen.

When does the Perfekt take hat and when ist?

Sein goes with verbs of movement (gehen, fahren, fliegen) and change of state (werden, sterben, wachsen), plus sein and bleiben. Everything else takes haben. The Perfekt column in the table shows it.

Which matters more: Präteritum or Perfekt?

When talking about the past, Germans usually use the Perfekt: Ich habe gegessen. The Präteritum is more common in books and the news — except sein, haben and the modals: war, hatte, konnte are used in speech too.

How can I learn these verbs fast?

In vowel groups (ei – ie – ie, i – a – u…), 10 a day, reviewing in the trainer after a day and after a week. Using them in your own sentences locks them in best — that’s what we do in lessons.

What’s next

Rules in plain words — with tables, examples and a quiz in every topic.

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