Baden Conjugation in German
baden means “to bathe” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 508 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about bathing in the lake, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of baden — every tense, every person, both participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich bade im See jeden Tag.” — “I bathe in the lake every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: baden
- English: to bathe
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Pattern: weak
- Separable: no
- Participle I: badend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gebadet
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for baden, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read baden in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about baden
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gebadet. The tables on this page give the participle in the uninflected form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- Partizip I is badend and Partizip II is gebadet: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because Partizip I appears in adjectival uses and Partizip II appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for baden. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bade |
| du | badest |
| er/sie/es | badet |
| wir | baden |
| ihr | badet |
| sie/Sie | baden |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich bade im Meer jeden Tag.” — “I bathe in the sea every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | badete |
| du | badetest |
| er/sie/es | badete |
| wir | badeten |
| ihr | badetet |
| sie/Sie | badeten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du badetest im Meer gestern.” — “You bathed in the sea yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gebadet |
| du | hast gebadet |
| er/sie/es | hat gebadet |
| wir | haben gebadet |
| ihr | habt gebadet |
| sie/Sie | haben gebadet |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat im Meer gebadet gestern.” — “He has bathed in the sea yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gebadet |
| du | hattest gebadet |
| er/sie/es | hatte gebadet |
| wir | hatten gebadet |
| ihr | hattet gebadet |
| sie/Sie | hatten gebadet |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten im Meer gebadet vor der Party.” — “We had bathed in the sea before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde baden |
| du | wirst baden |
| er/sie/es | wird baden |
| wir | werden baden |
| ihr | werdet baden |
| sie/Sie | werden baden |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde im Meer baden morgen.” — “I will bathe in the sea tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gebadet haben |
| du | wirst gebadet haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gebadet haben |
| wir | werden gebadet haben |
| ihr | werdet gebadet haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gebadet haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst im Meer gebadet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have bathed in the sea by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bade |
| du | badest |
| er/sie/es | bade |
| wir | baden |
| ihr | badet |
| sie/Sie | baden |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er bade im Meer.” — “It is important that he bathe in the sea.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | badete |
| du | badetest |
| er/sie/es | badete |
| wir | badeten |
| ihr | badetet |
| sie/Sie | badeten |
Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, hypothetical situations and polite requests. It doubles as the conditional: there is no separate würde tense in the tables, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive is a way of expressing the same meaning, not a tense of its own. For example: “Ich badete im Meer eines Tages.” — “I would bathe in the sea one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gebadet |
| du | hättest gebadet |
| er/sie/es | hätte gebadet |
| wir | hätten gebadet |
| ihr | hättet gebadet |
| sie/Sie | hätten gebadet |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte im Meer gebadet gestern.” — “He would have bathed in the sea yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | bade |
| wir | baden |
| ihr | badet |
| sie | baden |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Bade im Meer!” — “Bathe in the sea!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | badend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle badend describes something that is bathing. The present-tense sentence “Ich bade im See jeden Tag.” — “I bathe in the lake every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | gebadet |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe im See gebadet gestern.” — “I have bathed in the lake yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | baden |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive baden is the form you look up in a dictionary. In a sentence it appears after a modal verb or with zu, and in the future it follows werden, as in “Ich werde im See baden morgen.” — “I will bathe in the lake tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with baden, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich bade im See jeden Tag.” — “I bathe in the lake every day.”
- “Du badetest im Meer gestern.” — “You bathed in the sea yesterday.”
- “Er hat in der Badewanne gebadet gestern.” — “He has bathed in the bathtub yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten im See gebadet vor der Party.” — “We had bathed in the lake before the party.”
- “Ich werde im Meer baden morgen.” — “I will bathe in the sea tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst in der Badewanne gebadet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have bathed in the bathtub by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er bade im See.” — “It is important that he bathe in the lake.”
- “Ich badete im Meer eines Tages.” — “I would bathe in the sea one day.”
- “Er hätte in der Badewanne gebadet gestern.” — “He would have bathed in the bathtub yesterday.”
- “Bade im See!” — “Bathe in the lake!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich baden im See.”
✓ Right: “Ich bade im See.”
The infinitive baden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form bade.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich baden im See.”
✓ Right: “Ich bade im See.”
baden is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with bade.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich bade im See gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe im See gebadet gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gebadet, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich bade im See.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich bade im See.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use bade here, not the indicative bade.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin gebadet im See.”
✓ Right: “habe gebadet im See.”
The Perfekt of baden is formed with haben plus the past participle gebadet: the ich form is habe gebadet. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich badete im See jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich bade im See jeden Tag.”
The preterite badete describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present bade.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on baden. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of baden in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) bade
- B) badest
- C) badet
- D) baden
What is the du form of baden in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) badetest
- B) badete
- C) badeten
- D) badetet
What is the er/sie/es form of baden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gebadet
- B) hast gebadet
- C) haben gebadet
- D) hat gebadet
What is the wir form of baden in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gebadet
- B) hatte gebadet
- C) hattest gebadet
- D) hattet gebadet
What is the du form of baden in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden baden
- B) wirst baden
- C) werde baden
- D) wird baden
What is the ich form of baden in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gebadet haben
- B) wird gebadet haben
- C) werden gebadet haben
- D) werde gebadet haben
What is the er/sie/es form of baden in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) bade
- B) badest
- C) baden
- D) badet
What is the ich form of baden in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) badetest
- B) badeten
- C) badetet
- D) badete
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of baden?
- A) ausziehend
- B) aufwachend
- C) badend
- D) anziehend
What does baden mean in English?
- A) to wake up
- B) to bathe
- C) to put on
- D) to take off
Answer key
- A) bade — the ich form of baden in the Present (Präsens) is bade. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) badetest — the du form of baden in the Preterite (Präteritum) is badetest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gebadet — the er/sie/es form of baden in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gebadet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten gebadet — the wir form of baden in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gebadet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst baden — the du form of baden in the Future (Futur I) is wirst baden. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) werde gebadet haben — the ich form of baden in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gebadet haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) bade — the er/sie/es form of baden in the Konjunktiv I is bade. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) badete — the ich form of baden in the Konjunktiv II is badete. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) badend — the present participle (Partizip I) of baden is badend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to bathe — baden means “to bathe” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does baden mean in English?
baden means “to bathe”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is baden regular or irregular?
baden is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is badend and Partizip II is gebadet.
What are the participles of baden?
Partizip I is badend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is gebadet — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gebadet.
Which auxiliary does baden take in the Perfekt?
baden takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gebadet. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gebadet.
How do I say “I bathe” in German?
Say “Ich bade im See jeden Tag.” — “I bathe in the lake every day.” The ich form of the present is bade, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of baden — every tense of baden in one place.
- Baden in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Baden examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Anziehen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Ausziehen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Aufwachen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise baden with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise baden with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise baden with the interactive tool.