Brauchen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Brauchen means “to need”, 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 brauchen, 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 brauchen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.” — “I need a new coat.”
  2. “Du brauchst mehr Zeit für die Arbeit.” — “You need more time for work.”
  3. “Ich habe einen Stift für die Schule gebraucht.” — “I have needed a pen for school.”
  4. “Er brauchte einen neuen Mantel.” — “He needed a new coat.”
  5. “Wir werden mehr Zeit für die Arbeit brauchen.” — “We will need more time for work.”
  6. “Du hast einen Stift für die Schule gebraucht.” — “You have needed a pen for school.”
  7. “Ich brauchte einen neuen Mantel.” — “I would need a new coat.”
  8. “Er brauche mehr Zeit für die Arbeit.” — “He needs more time for work.”
  9. “Wir hatten einen Stift für die Schule gebraucht.” — “We had needed a pen for school.”
  10. “Er wird einen neuen Mantel brauchen.” — “He will need a new coat.”
  11. “Sie brauchen mehr Zeit für die Arbeit.” — “They need more time for work.”
  12. “Brauch einen Stift für die Schule!” — “Need a pen for school!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Brauchst du einen neuen Mantel?” — “You need a new coat?” Jonas: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.” — “I need a new coat.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde mehr Zeit für die Arbeit brauchen.” — “I will need more time for work.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe einen Stift für die Schule gebraucht.” — “I have needed a pen for school.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich brauchte einen neuen Mantel.” — “I would need a new coat.”

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.

Brauchen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, brauchen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is brauche: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.” — “I need a new coat.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, brauchen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is brauchte: “Er brauchte mehr Zeit für die Arbeit.” — “He needed more time for work.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, brauchen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gebraucht. The ich form is habe gebraucht: “Ich habe einen Stift für die Schule gebraucht.” — “I have needed a pen for school.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, brauchen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden brauchen: “Wir werden einen neuen Mantel brauchen.” — “We will need a new coat.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, brauchen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is brauchtest: “Du brauchtest mehr Zeit für die Arbeit.” — “You would need more time for work.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, brauchen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is brauche: “Er brauche einen Stift für die Schule.” — “He needs a pen for school.” 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 brauchen einen neuen Mantel.”

✓ Right: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.”

The infinitive brauchen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form brauche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du brauche einen neuen Mantel.”

✓ Right: “Du brauchst einen neuen Mantel.”

brauche is the ich form. With du you need brauchst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel gebraucht.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich brauche einen neuen Mantel.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gebraucht einen neuen Mantel.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel gebraucht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) braucht
    • B) brauchen
    • C) brauche
    • D) brauchst

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

    • A) brauchst
    • B) brauche
    • C) braucht
    • D) brauchen

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

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

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

    • A) brauchten
    • B) brauchte
    • C) brauchtest
    • D) brauchtet

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

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

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

    • A) brauchten
    • B) brauchtet
    • C) brauchte
    • D) brauchtest

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

    • A) brauchen
    • B) brauchet
    • C) brauche
    • D) brauchest

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of brauchen?

    • A) gesucht
    • B) gekauft
    • C) verkauft
    • D) gebraucht

  10. What does brauchen mean in English?

  • A) to sell
  • B) to need
  • C) to search
  • D) to buy

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does brauchen mean in English?

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

Is brauchen regular or irregular?

brauchen is regular in every tense. The present participle is brauchend and the past participle is gebraucht.

How do I practise brauchen every day?

Say one sentence with brauchen 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 brauche einen neuen Mantel.”, “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel gebraucht.” and “Ich werde einen neuen Mantel brauchen.”. 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 brauchen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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