Besuchen Conjugation in German
besuchen means “to visit” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 308 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about visiting my grandma in Berlin, 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 besuchen — 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 besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: besuchen
- English: to visit
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Pattern: weak
- Separable: no
- Participle I: besuchend
- Past participle (Partizip II): besucht
- 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 besuchen, 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 besuchen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about besuchen
- It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle besucht. 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 besuchend and Partizip II is besucht: 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 besuchen. 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 | besuche |
| du | besuchst |
| er/sie/es | besucht |
| wir | besuchen |
| ihr | besucht |
| sie/Sie | besuchen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With besuchen 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 besuche meine Freunde in Hamburg jeden Tag.” — “I visit my friends in Hamburg every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | besuchte |
| du | besuchtest |
| er/sie/es | besuchte |
| wir | besuchten |
| ihr | besuchtet |
| sie/Sie | besuchten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With besuchen 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 besuchtest meine Freunde in Hamburg gestern.” — “You visited my friends in Hamburg yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe besucht |
| du | hast besucht |
| er/sie/es | hat besucht |
| wir | haben besucht |
| ihr | habt besucht |
| sie/Sie | haben besucht |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat meine Freunde in Hamburg besucht gestern.” — “He has visited my friends in Hamburg yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte besucht |
| du | hattest besucht |
| er/sie/es | hatte besucht |
| wir | hatten besucht |
| ihr | hattet besucht |
| sie/Sie | hatten besucht |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten meine Freunde in Hamburg besucht vor der Party.” — “We had visited my friends in Hamburg before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde besuchen |
| du | wirst besuchen |
| er/sie/es | wird besuchen |
| wir | werden besuchen |
| ihr | werdet besuchen |
| sie/Sie | werden besuchen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde meine Freunde in Hamburg besuchen morgen.” — “I will visit my friends in Hamburg tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde besucht haben |
| du | wirst besucht haben |
| er/sie/es | wird besucht haben |
| wir | werden besucht haben |
| ihr | werdet besucht haben |
| sie/Sie | werden besucht haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst meine Freunde in Hamburg besucht haben bis morgen.” — “You will have visited my friends in Hamburg by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | besuche |
| du | besuchest |
| er/sie/es | besuche |
| wir | besuchen |
| ihr | besuchet |
| sie/Sie | besuchen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er besuche meine Freunde in Hamburg.” — “It is important that he visit my friends in Hamburg.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | besuchte |
| du | besuchtest |
| er/sie/es | besuchte |
| wir | besuchten |
| ihr | besuchtet |
| sie/Sie | besuchten |
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 besuchte meine Freunde in Hamburg eines Tages.” — “I would visit my friends in Hamburg one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte besucht |
| du | hättest besucht |
| er/sie/es | hätte besucht |
| wir | hätten besucht |
| ihr | hättet besucht |
| sie/Sie | hätten besucht |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meine Freunde in Hamburg besucht gestern.” — “He would have visited my friends in Hamburg yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | besuch |
| wir | besuchen |
| ihr | besucht |
| sie | besuchen |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With besuchen 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: “Besuch meine Freunde in Hamburg!” — “Visit my friends in Hamburg!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | besuchend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle besuchend describes something that is visiting. The present-tense sentence “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | besucht |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe meine Oma in Berlin besucht gestern.” — “I have visited my grandma in Berlin yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | besuchen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive besuchen 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 meine Oma in Berlin besuchen morgen.” — “I will visit my grandma in Berlin tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with besuchen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.”
- “Du besuchtest meine Freunde in Hamburg gestern.” — “You visited my friends in Hamburg yesterday.”
- “Er hat das Museum in München besucht gestern.” — “He has visited the museum in Munich yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten meine Oma in Berlin besucht vor der Party.” — “We had visited my grandma in Berlin before the party.”
- “Ich werde meine Freunde in Hamburg besuchen morgen.” — “I will visit my friends in Hamburg tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst das Museum in München besucht haben bis morgen.” — “You will have visited the museum in Munich by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er besuche meine Oma in Berlin.” — “It is important that he visit my grandma in Berlin.”
- “Ich besuchte meine Freunde in Hamburg eines Tages.” — “I would visit my friends in Hamburg one day.”
- “Er hätte das Museum in München besucht gestern.” — “He would have visited the museum in Munich yesterday.”
- “Besuch meine Oma in Berlin!” — “Visit my grandma in Berlin!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.”
The infinitive besuchen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form besuche.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich besuchen meine Oma in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.”
besuchen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with besuche.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Oma in Berlin besucht gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe besucht, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use besuche here, not the indicative besuche.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin besucht meine Oma in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “habe besucht meine Oma in Berlin.”
The Perfekt of besuchen is formed with haben plus the past participle besucht: the ich form is habe besucht. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich besuchte meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.”
The preterite besuchte describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present besuche.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on besuchen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of besuchen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) besuchen
- B) besuche
- C) besuchst
- D) besucht
What is the du form of besuchen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) besuchten
- B) besuchtet
- C) besuchtest
- D) besuchte
What is the er/sie/es form of besuchen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben besucht
- B) hat besucht
- C) habe besucht
- D) hast besucht
What is the wir form of besuchen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest besucht
- B) hattet besucht
- C) hatten besucht
- D) hatte besucht
What is the du form of besuchen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird besuchen
- B) werden besuchen
- C) wirst besuchen
- D) werde besuchen
What is the ich form of besuchen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werden besucht haben
- B) werde besucht haben
- C) wirst besucht haben
- D) wird besucht haben
What is the er/sie/es form of besuchen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) besuchet
- B) besuche
- C) besuchest
- D) besuchen
What is the ich form of besuchen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) besuchtet
- B) besuchte
- C) besuchtest
- D) besuchten
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of besuchen?
- A) kostend
- B) gewinnend
- C) verlierend
- D) besuchend
What does besuchen mean in English?
- A) to win
- B) to lose
- C) to visit
- D) to cost
Answer key
- B) besuche — the ich form of besuchen in the Present (Präsens) is besuche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) besuchtest — the du form of besuchen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is besuchtest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hat besucht — the er/sie/es form of besuchen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat besucht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatten besucht — the wir form of besuchen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten besucht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wirst besuchen — the du form of besuchen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst besuchen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) werde besucht haben — the ich form of besuchen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde besucht haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) besuche — the er/sie/es form of besuchen in the Konjunktiv I is besuche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) besuchte — the ich form of besuchen in the Konjunktiv II is besuchte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) besuchend — the present participle (Partizip I) of besuchen is besuchend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to visit — besuchen means “to visit” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does besuchen mean in English?
besuchen means “to visit”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is besuchen regular or irregular?
besuchen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is besuchend and Partizip II is besucht.
What are the participles of besuchen?
Partizip I is besuchend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is besucht — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe besucht.
Which auxiliary does besuchen take in the Perfekt?
besuchen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe besucht. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle besucht.
How do I say “I visit” in German?
Say “Ich besuche meine Oma in Berlin jeden Tag.” — “I visit my grandma in Berlin every day.” The ich form of the present is besuche, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of besuchen — every tense of besuchen in one place.
- Besuchen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Besuchen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Kosten conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Gewinnen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Verlieren conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- 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 besuchen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise besuchen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise besuchen with the interactive tool.