Anrufen Conjugation in German

anrufen means “to phone” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of anrufen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “I call my friend in the evening.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and anrufen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: anrufen
  • English: to phone
  • Verb type: Strong separable verb
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
  • Present participle (Partizip I): anrufend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): angerufen
  • Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
  • Separable prefix: an — the prefix splits off in finite forms (for example, rufe an) and takes ge- between prefix and stem in the past participle (angerufen).

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for anrufen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

anrufen is a strong verb: its preterite (rief an) and its past participle (angerufen) do not follow the weak -te pattern, so learn them as a set. The present tense itself keeps the plain stem in every person.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for anrufen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present (Präsens)

Person Form
ich rufe an
du rufst an
er/sie/es ruft an
wir rufen an
ihr ruft an
sie/Sie rufen an

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich rief an
du riefst an
er/sie/es rief an
wir riefen an
ihr rieft an
sie/Sie riefen an

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe angerufen
du hast angerufen
er/sie/es hat angerufen
wir haben angerufen
ihr habt angerufen
sie/Sie haben angerufen

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte angerufen
du hattest angerufen
er/sie/es hatte angerufen
wir hatten angerufen
ihr hattet angerufen
sie/Sie hatten angerufen

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde anrufen
du wirst anrufen
er/sie/es wird anrufen
wir werden anrufen
ihr werdet anrufen
sie/Sie werden anrufen

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde angerufen haben
du wirst angerufen haben
er/sie/es wird angerufen haben
wir werden angerufen haben
ihr werdet angerufen haben
sie/Sie werden angerufen haben

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich rufe an
du rufest an
er/sie/es rufe an
wir rufen an
ihr rufet an
sie/Sie rufen an

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich riefe an
du riefest an
er/sie/es riefe an
wir riefen an
ihr riefet an
sie/Sie riefen an

Conditional perfect

Person Form
ich hätte angerufen
du hättest angerufen
er/sie/es hätte angerufen
wir hätten angerufen
ihr hättet angerufen
sie/Sie hätten angerufen

Imperative (Imperativ)

Person Form
du ruf an
wir anrufen
ihr ruft an
sie/Sie anrufen

Participles and infinitive

Form German
Present participle (Partizip I) anrufend
Past participle (Partizip II) angerufen
Infinitive anrufen

When to use each tense

Present (Präsens)

The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With anrufen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “I call my friend in the evening.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With anrufen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du riefst meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “You called my friend in the evening.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With anrufen it is formed with haben + the past participle angerufen. For example: “Er hat meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.” — “He has called my friend in the evening.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.” — “We had called my friend in the evening.”

Future (Futur I)

The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet meinen Freund am Abend anrufen.” — “You will call my friend in the evening.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden meinen Freund am Abend angerufen haben.” — “They will have called my friend in the evening.”

Konjunktiv I

The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meinen Freund am Abend anrufe.” — “It is important that I call my friend in the evening.”

Konjunktiv II

The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du riefest meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “You would call my friend in the evening if you could.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.” — “He would have called my friend in the evening if he had been able to.”

Imperative (Imperativ)

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With anrufen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ruf meinen Freund am Abend an!” — “Call my friend in the evening!”

Participles and infinitive

The present participle is anrufend — “while calling” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is angerufen, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe angerufen. The infinitive is anrufen.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with anrufen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “I call my friend in the evening.”
  2. “Du rufst meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “You call my friend in the evening.”
  3. “Er rief meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “He called my friend in the evening.”
  4. “Ich habe meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.” — “I have called my friend in the evening.”
  5. “Er hatte meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.” — “He had called my friend in the evening.”
  6. “Wir werden meinen Freund am Abend anrufen.” — “We will call my friend in the evening.”
  7. “Ich werde meinen Freund am Abend angerufen haben.” — “I will have called my friend in the evening.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meinen Freund am Abend anrufe.” — “It is important that I call my friend in the evening.”
  9. “Ich riefe meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “I would call my friend in the evening if I could.”
  10. “Ruf meinen Freund am Abend an!” — “Call my friend in the evening!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich anrufen meinen Freund am Abend.”

✓ Right: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.”

The infinitive anrufen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form rufe an.

2. Confusing anrufen with telefonieren

✗ Wrong: “Ich telefonieren meinen Freund am Abend.” (using the wrong verb)

✓ Right: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.”

anrufen means “to phone”; telefonieren means “to phone”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.

3. Forgetting to split the separable prefix

✗ Wrong: “Ich anrufen meinen Freund am Abend.” (prefix left attached to the stem)

✓ Right: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.”

anrufen is separable: in finite forms the prefix an goes to the end of the clause — rufe an — not next to the stem.

4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meinen Freund am Abend anrufst.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meinen Freund am Abend anrufest.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use rufest an here, not the indicative rufst an.

5. Using the present for a finished past event

✗ Wrong: “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinen Freund am Abend angerufen.”

Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe angerufen), not the present.

Quiz: test yourself

  1. What is the ich form of anrufen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) rufe an
    • B) rufst an
    • C) rufen an
    • D) ruft an

  2. What is the er/sie/es form of anrufen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) rufe an
    • B) rufst an
    • C) rufen an
    • D) ruft an

  3. What is the ich form of anrufen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) rief an
    • B) riefen an
    • C) rieft an
    • D) riefst an

  4. What is the ich form of anrufen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) habt angerufen
    • B) habe angerufen
    • C) hat angerufen
    • D) haben angerufen

  5. What is the wir form of anrufen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet angerufen
    • B) hatten angerufen
    • C) hattest angerufen
    • D) hatte angerufen

  6. What is the du form of anrufen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werden anrufen
    • B) werde anrufen
    • C) wirst anrufen
    • D) wird anrufen

  7. What is the ich form of anrufen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?

    • A) werde angerufen haben
    • B) werden angerufen haben
    • C) werdet angerufen haben
    • D) wirst angerufen haben

  8. What is the ich form of anrufen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) riefet an
    • B) riefest an
    • C) riefe an
    • D) riefen an

  9. What is the past participle of anrufen?

    • A) rief an
    • B) angerufen
    • C) anrufend
    • D) rufe an

  10. What does anrufen mean in English?

  • A) to come
  • B) to phone
  • C) to do

Answer key

  1. A) rufe an — the ich form of anrufen in the present tense is rufe an.
  2. D) ruft an — the er/sie/es form of anrufen in the present tense is ruft an.
  3. A) rief an — the ich form of anrufen in the preterite is rief an.
  4. B) habe angerufen — the ich form of anrufen in the Perfekt is habe angerufen.
  5. B) hatten angerufen — the wir form of anrufen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten angerufen.
  6. C) wirst anrufen — the du form of anrufen in the Futur I is wirst anrufen.
  7. A) werde angerufen haben — the ich form of anrufen in the Futur II is werde angerufen haben.
  8. C) riefe an — the ich form of anrufen in the Konjunktiv II is riefe an.
  9. B) angerufen — the past participle of anrufen is angerufen; perfect tenses use haben + angerufen.
  10. B) to phone — anrufen means “to phone” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does anrufen mean in English?

anrufen means “to phone”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.” (“I call my friend in the evening.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is anrufen regular or irregular?

anrufen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is anrufend and the past participle is angerufen.

What are the participles of anrufen?

The present participle is anrufend and the past participle is angerufen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe angerufen.

What is the difference between anrufen and telefonieren?

anrufen means “to phone”, while telefonieren means “to phone”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for telefonieren and compare the meanings in context.

How do I say “I call” in German?

Say “Ich rufe meinen Freund am Abend an.” — “I call my friend in the evening.” The ich form of the present is rufe an, and it is the form you will use most often.

How to learn anrufen

Start with the present tense: rufe an, rufst an, ruft an, rufen an, ruft an, rufen an. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe angerufen — and the Präteritum — rief an. Next, learn the future (werde anrufen) and the Konjunktiv II (riefe an), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (rufe an) and the imperative (ruf an). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.

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