Bezahlen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Bezahlen means “to pay”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for bezahlen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with bezahlen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.” — “I pay the bill today.”
  2. “Du bezahlst mit Karte im Laden.” — “You pay by card in the shop.”
  3. “Ich habe den Preis an der Kasse bezahlt.” — “I have paid the price at the till.”
  4. “Er bezahlte die Rechnung heute.” — “He paid the bill today.”
  5. “Wir werden mit Karte im Laden bezahlen.” — “We will pay by card in the shop.”
  6. “Du hast den Preis an der Kasse bezahlt.” — “You have paid the price at the till.”
  7. “Ich bezahlte die Rechnung heute.” — “I would pay the bill today.”
  8. “Er bezahle mit Karte im Laden.” — “He pays by card in the shop.”
  9. “Wir hatten den Preis an der Kasse bezahlt.” — “We had paid the price at the till.”
  10. “Er wird die Rechnung heute bezahlen.” — “He will pay the bill today.”
  11. “Sie bezahlen mit Karte im Laden.” — “They pay by card in the shop.”
  12. “Bezahl den Preis an der Kasse!” — “Pay the price at the till!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about the bill today. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how bezahlen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of bezahlen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Bezahlst du die Rechnung heute?” — “You pay the bill today?” Jonas: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.” — “I pay the bill today.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde mit Karte im Laden bezahlen.” — “I will pay by card in the shop.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe den Preis an der Kasse bezahlt.” — “I have paid the price at the till.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich bezahlte die Rechnung heute.” — “I would pay the bill today.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Bezahlen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of bezahlen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, bezahlen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is bezahle: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.” — “I pay the bill today.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, bezahlen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is bezahlte: “Er bezahlte mit Karte im Laden.” — “He paid by card in the shop.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, bezahlen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle bezahlt. The ich form is habe bezahlt: “Ich habe den Preis an der Kasse bezahlt.” — “I have paid the price at the till.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, bezahlen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden bezahlen: “Wir werden die Rechnung heute bezahlen.” — “We will pay the bill today.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, bezahlen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is bezahltest: “Du bezahltest mit Karte im Laden.” — “You would pay by card in the shop.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, bezahlen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is bezahle: “Er bezahle den Preis an der Kasse.” — “He pays the price at the till.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich bezahlen die Rechnung heute.”

✓ Right: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.”

The infinitive bezahlen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form bezahle.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du bezahle die Rechnung heute.”

✓ Right: “Du bezahlst die Rechnung heute.”

bezahle is the ich form. With du you need bezahlst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Rechnung heute bezahlt.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe bezahlt, not the present.

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: bezahle, not the indicative bezahle.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bezahlt die Rechnung heute.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Rechnung heute bezahlt.”

The Perfekt of bezahlen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle bezahlt: the full ich form is habe bezahlt.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on bezahlen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

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

    • A) bezahlen
    • B) bezahle
    • C) bezahlst
    • D) bezahlt

  2. What is the du form of bezahlen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) bezahle
    • B) bezahlt
    • C) bezahlen
    • D) bezahlst

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of bezahlen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) haben bezahlt
    • B) hat bezahlt
    • C) habe bezahlt
    • D) hast bezahlt

  4. What is the wir form of bezahlen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) bezahlte
    • B) bezahltest
    • C) bezahltet
    • D) bezahlten

  5. What is the du form of bezahlen in the Future (Futur I)?

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

  6. What is the ich form of bezahlen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) bezahltet
    • B) bezahlte
    • C) bezahltest
    • D) bezahlten

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of bezahlen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) bezahlet
    • B) bezahle
    • C) bezahlest
    • D) bezahlen

  8. What is the ich form of bezahlen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

  9. What is the past participle of bezahlen?

    • A) gehabt
    • B) geworden
    • C) bezahlt
    • D) gewesen

  10. What does bezahlen mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to become
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) bezahle — the ich form of bezahlen in the Present (Präsens) is bezahle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) bezahlst — the du form of bezahlen in the Present (Präsens) is bezahlst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) hat bezahlt — the er/sie/es form of bezahlen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat bezahlt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) bezahlten — the wir form of bezahlen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is bezahlten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) wirst bezahlen — the du form of bezahlen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst bezahlen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) bezahlte — the ich form of bezahlen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is bezahlte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) bezahle — the er/sie/es form of bezahlen in the Konjunktiv I is bezahle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) hatte bezahlt — the ich form of bezahlen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte bezahlt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) bezahlt — the past participle of bezahlen is bezahlt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. D) to pay — bezahlen means “to pay” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does bezahlen mean in English?

bezahlen means “to pay”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is bezahlen regular or irregular?

bezahlen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is bezahlend and the past participle is bezahlt.

How do I practise bezahlen every day?

Say one sentence with bezahlen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich bezahle die Rechnung heute.”, “Ich habe die Rechnung heute bezahlt.” and “Ich werde die Rechnung heute bezahlen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

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

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