German Strong Verbs (N-Schw)
Irregular German Verbs
How to Conjugate German Irregular (Strong) Verbs
In the following charts we have listed all the basic German verbs that have irregular forms that must be memorized. (Weak (regular) verbs follow a predictable pattern, and do not vary the way that strong verbs do.)
Only some compound verbs are listed (i.e., anfangen). To conjugate other compound verbs based on other verbs, e.g., abgeben, based on geben, simply use the stem verb (in this case "geben") with the prefix (in this case "ab") to get the past (gab ab) or past participle (abgegeben).
NOTE: Participles that require sein as a helping verb are indicated by ist in front of the past participle. The English meaning shown for each verb may be only one of several possible meanings.
This verb chart uses the new German spelling (die neue Rechtschreibung)!
Click on any linked verb to learn more about its conjugation and use.
STRONG VERBS > A-F | G-M | N-Schw | Se-Z | Examples
MORE > Verb-Lexikon - All verbs (index)
MORE > Ablaut Classes of strong verbs
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| 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 |
NEXT > Se-Z
STRONG VERBS > A-F | G-M | N-Schw | Se-Z | Examples
MORE > Verb-Lexikon - All verbs (index)
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