Besuchen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Besuchen means “to visit”, and this page covers exactly one thing: besuchen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for besuchen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about besuchen in the present. For example: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of besuchen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Besuchen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich besuche
du besuchst
er/sie/es besucht
wir besuchen
ihr besucht
sie/Sie besuchen

Partizip I: besuchend · Partizip II: besucht

The present participle is besuchend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is besucht, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe besucht, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how besuchen is used.

How the Präsens of besuchen is formed

The present of besuchen is irregular: the forms do not follow the regular weak pattern, so learn them as a set — ich besuche, du besuchst, er/sie/es besucht, wir besuchen, ihr besucht, sie/Sie besuchen. There is no single stem that produces all six forms, which is why this verb is listed as irregular in the present in the verified tables. Say the six forms aloud in order, ich to sie, until the set feels like one unit rather than six separate words.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I besuchend and Partizip II besucht belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise besuchen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of besuchen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use besuchen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Visiting my grandma in Berlin — the everyday use

Besuchen is the verb for visiting my grandma in Berlin. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”

2. Visiting my friends in Hamburg — a second everyday use

Besuchen also covers visiting my friends in Hamburg. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du besuchst meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “You visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

3. Visiting the museum in Munich — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use besuchen for visiting the museum in Munich. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er besucht das Museum in München jeden Tag.” — “He visits the museum in Munich every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and besuchen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir besuchen meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “We visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with besuchen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr besucht meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “You visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich besuchte meine Oma in Berlin gestern.” — “I visited my grandma in Berlin yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du besuchst meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “You visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du besuchtest meine Freunde in Hamburg gestern.” — “You visited my friends in Hamburg yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir besuchen das Museum in München jeden Tag.” — “We visit the museum in Munich every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir besuchten das Museum in München gestern.” — “We visited the museum in Munich yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: besuchen in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Ich besuche meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “I visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

  2. “Du besuchst das Museum in München jeden Tag.” — “You visit the museum in Munich every day.”

  3. “Er besucht meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “He visits my grandma in Berlin every day.”

  4. “Wir besuchen meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “We visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

  5. “Ihr besucht das Museum in München jeden Tag.” — “You visit the museum in Munich every day.”

  6. “Sie besuchen meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “They visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”

  7. “Ich besuche meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “I visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”

  8. “Du besuchst das Museum in München jeden Tag.” — “You visit the museum in Munich every day.”

Common mistakes with besuchen in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Ich besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.” Right: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.” Why: The ich form is besuche, not besuchen. Besuchen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.” Right: “Wir besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: besuchen, not besuchen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.” Why: The infinitive besuchen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form besuche.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use besuche here, not the indicative besuche.

Quiz: besuchen in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ meine Freunde in Hamburg.”

  • (A) besuchen
  • (B) besuche
  • (C) besuchst
  • (D) besucht

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ das Museum in München.”

  • (A) besuche
  • (B) besucht
  • (C) besuchen
  • (D) besuchst

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ meine Oma in Berlin.”

  • (A) besuchst
  • (B) besuchen
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) besuche

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ meine Freunde in Hamburg.”

  • (A) besuche
  • (B) besuchst
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) besuchen

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ das Museum in München.”

  • (A) besuchst
  • (B) besuchen
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) besuche

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ meine Oma in Berlin.”

  • (A) besuche
  • (B) besuchst
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) besuchen

7. What does besuchen mean in English?

  • (A) to win
  • (B) to lose
  • (C) to visit
  • (D) to cost

8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of besuchen?

  • (A) gewonnen
  • (B) verloren
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) gekostet

Answer key

  1. B) besuche — The ich form is besuche.
  2. D) besuchst — The du form is besuchst.
  3. C) besucht — The er/sie/es form is besucht.
  4. D) besuchen — The wir form is besuchen.
  5. C) besucht — The ihr form is besucht.
  6. D) besuchen — The sie/Sie form is besuchen.
  7. C) to visit — besuchen means “to visit”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. C) besucht — The past participle of besuchen is besucht; the Präsens is formed with haben + besucht.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of besuchen formed?

The present of besuchen is irregular, so the six forms must be learned as a set from the table above: ich besuche, du besuchst, er besucht, wir besuchen, ihr besucht, sie besuchen. There is no regular pattern that produces them.

When do I use the present of besuchen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of besuchen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” with “Ich besuchte meine Oma in Berlin gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

Pronunciation

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

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