Absagen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
How do you actually use absagen — “to cancel” — in a real sentence? This page shows you: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue, the mistakes learners make most often with this verb, and a quiz to test yourself. Every German form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for absagen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I cancel the appointment on Friday.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for absagen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Absagen in real sentences
Twelve sentences with absagen, covering the present, the Präteritum, the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt, the future, Konjunktiv I and II, and the imperative. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I cancel the appointment on Friday.”
- “Du sagst den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “You cancel the appointment on Friday.”
- “Er sagt den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “He cancels the appointment on Friday.”
- “Ich sagte den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Wir sagten den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “We cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Ich habe den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “I have cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Du hast den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “You have cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Ich hatte den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “I had cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Wir werden den Termin am Freitag absagen.” — “We will cancel the appointment on Friday.”
- “Ich werde den Termin am Freitag abgesagt haben.” — “I will have cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich den Termin am Freitag absage.” — “It is important that I cancel the appointment on Friday.”
- “Ich sagte den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I would cancel the appointment on Friday if I could.”
- “Ich hätte den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “I would have cancelled the appointment on Friday if I had been able to.”
- “Sag den Termin am Freitag ab!” — “Cancel the appointment on Friday!”
A short dialogue with absagen
Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of absagen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.
Anna: “Du sagst den Termin am Freitag ab?” — “You cancel the appointment on Friday?”
Ben: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I cancel the appointment on Friday.”
Anna: “Du hast den Termin am Freitag abgesagt?” — “You have cancelled the appointment on Friday?”
Ben: “Ich habe den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “I have cancelled the appointment on Friday.”
Anna: “Du wirst den Termin am Freitag absagen?” — “You will cancel the appointment on Friday?”
Ben: “Ich werde den Termin am Freitag absagen.” — “I will cancel the appointment on Friday.”
Anna: “Sag den Termin am Freitag ab!” — “Cancel the appointment on Friday!”
Ben: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.” — “I cancel the appointment on Friday.”
Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: sage ab, sagst ab, habe abgesagt, werde absagen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know absagen well enough to use it.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich absagen den Termin am Freitag.”
✓ Right: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.”
The infinitive absagen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form sage ab.
2. Confusing absagen with annehmen
✗ Wrong: “Ich annehmen den Termin am Freitag.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.”
absagen means “to cancel”; annehmen means “to accept”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting to split the separable prefix
✗ Wrong: “Ich absagen den Termin am Freitag.” (prefix left attached to the stem)
✓ Right: “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.”
absagen is separable: in finite forms the prefix ab goes to the end of the clause — sage ab — and the participle keeps it attached with ge- in between (abgesagt).
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Termin am Freitag absagst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Termin am Freitag absagest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use sagest ab here, not the indicative sagst ab.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of absagen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) sagst ab
- B) sagen ab
- C) sagt ab
- D) sage ab
What is the er/sie/es form of absagen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) sagst ab
- B) sagt ab
- C) sagen ab
- D) sage ab
What is the du form of absagen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) sagten ab
- B) sagte ab
- C) sagtest ab
- D) sagtet ab
What is the wir form of absagen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe abgesagt
- B) habt abgesagt
- C) hat abgesagt
- D) haben abgesagt
What is the ich form of absagen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde absagen
- B) werden absagen
- C) wirst absagen
- D) werdet absagen
What is the du form of absagen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) sagtet ab
- B) sagtest ab
- C) sagte ab
- D) sagten ab
What is the ich form of absagen in the Conditional perfect?
- A) hätten abgesagt
- B) hättet abgesagt
- C) hättest abgesagt
- D) hätte abgesagt
What is the past participle of absagen?
- A) absagend
- B) abgesagt
- C) sage ab
- D) sagte ab
What is the present participle of absagen?
- A) abgesagt
- B) absagend
- C) sage ab
- D) werde absagen
What does absagen mean in English?
- A) to come
- B) to cancel
- C) to accept
- D) to do
Answer key
- D) sage ab — the ich form of absagen in the present tense is sage ab.
- B) sagt ab — the er/sie/es form of absagen in the present tense is sagt ab.
- C) sagtest ab — the du form of absagen in the preterite is sagtest ab.
- D) haben abgesagt — the wir form of absagen in the Perfekt is haben abgesagt.
- A) werde absagen — the ich form of absagen in the Futur I is werde absagen.
- B) sagtest ab — the du form of absagen in the Konjunktiv II is sagtest ab.
- D) hätte abgesagt — the ich form of absagen in the conditional perfect is hätte abgesagt.
- B) abgesagt — the past participle of absagen is abgesagt; perfect tenses use haben + abgesagt.
- B) absagend — the present participle of absagen is absagend.
- B) to cancel — absagen means “to cancel” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does absagen mean in English?
absagen means “to cancel”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Ich sage den Termin am Freitag ab.” (“I cancel the appointment on Friday.”).
Is absagen regular or irregular?
absagen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The full tables are on the conjugation page.
How do I use absagen in the Perfekt?
Use haben + the past participle abgesagt: “Ich habe den Termin am Freitag abgesagt.” — “I have cancelled the appointment on Friday.” The full Perfekt table is on the conjugation page.
Related pages
- absagen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- absagen in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in one tense.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise absagen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise absagen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.