Denken Conjugation in German
denken means “to think” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 36 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends 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 denken — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: denken
- English: to think
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): denkend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gedacht
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: mixed in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for denken, 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 denken in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about denken
- 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 Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gedacht. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are denkend and gedacht: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle 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 denken. 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 | denke |
| du | denkst |
| er/sie/es | denkt |
| wir | denken |
| ihr | denkt |
| sie/Sie | denken |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With denken 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 denke jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “I think about the future every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | dachte |
| du | dachtest |
| er/sie/es | dachte |
| wir | dachten |
| ihr | dachtet |
| sie/Sie | dachten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With denken 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 dachtest jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “You thought about the future every day.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gedacht |
| du | hast gedacht |
| er/sie/es | hat gedacht |
| wir | haben gedacht |
| ihr | habt gedacht |
| sie/Sie | haben gedacht |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat jeden Tag an die Zukunft gedacht.” — “He has thought about the future every day.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gedacht |
| du | hattest gedacht |
| er/sie/es | hatte gedacht |
| wir | hatten gedacht |
| ihr | hattet gedacht |
| sie/Sie | hatten gedacht |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte jeden Tag an die Zukunft gedacht.” — “I had thought about the future every day.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde denken |
| du | wirst denken |
| er/sie/es | wird denken |
| wir | werden denken |
| ihr | werdet denken |
| sie/Sie | werden denken |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde jeden Tag an die Zukunft denken.” — “I will think about the future every day.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gedacht haben |
| du | wirst gedacht haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gedacht haben |
| wir | werden gedacht haben |
| ihr | werdet gedacht haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gedacht haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst jeden Tag an die Zukunft gedacht haben.” — “You will have thought about the future every day.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | denke |
| du | denkest |
| er/sie/es | denke |
| wir | denken |
| ihr | denket |
| sie/Sie | denken |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er denke jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “He thinks about the future every day.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | dächte |
| du | dächtest |
| er/sie/es | dächte |
| wir | dächten |
| ihr | dächtet |
| sie/Sie | dächten |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich dächte jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “I would think about the future every day.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gedacht |
| du | hättest gedacht |
| er/sie/es | hätte gedacht |
| wir | hätten gedacht |
| ihr | hättet gedacht |
| sie/Sie | hätten gedacht |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte jeden Tag an die Zukunft gedacht.” — “He would have thought about the future every day.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | denk |
| wir | denken |
| ihr | denkt |
| sie/Sie | denken |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With denken 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: “Denk jeden Tag an die Zukunft!” — “Think about the future every day!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | denkend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle denkend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gedacht |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.” — “I have thought about my friends in Berlin.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | denken |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with denken, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends in Berlin.”
- “Du dachtest jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “You thought about the future every day.”
- “Er hat oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “He has thought often about school.”
- “Ich werde an meine Freunde in Berlin denken.” — “I will think about my friends in Berlin.”
- “Du dächtest jeden Tag an die Zukunft.” — “You would think about the future every day.”
- “Ich hatte oft an die Schule gedacht.” — “I had thought often about school.”
- “Du wirst jeden Tag an die Zukunft gedacht haben.” — “You will have thought about the future every day.”
- “Er denke oft an die Schule.” — “He thinks often about school.”
- “Ich hätte an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.” — “I would have thought about my friends in Berlin.”
- “Denk an meine Freunde in Berlin!” — “Think about my friends in Berlin!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich denken an meine Freunde in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.”
The infinitive denken never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form denke.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich denken an meine Freunde in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.”
denken is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with denke.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gedacht, not the present.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”
The Perfekt of denken is formed with haben plus the past participle gedacht: the ich form is habe gedacht. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich dachte an meine Freunde in Berlin gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe an meine Freunde in Berlin gedacht.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gedacht is the usual past tense. The preterite dachte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Denk an meine Freunde in Berlin!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Denkt an meine Freunde in Berlin!”
The du imperative denk is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form denkt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on denken. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of denken in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) denken
- B) denke
- C) denkst
- D) denkt
What is the er/sie/es form of denken in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) dachtest
- B) dachten
- C) dachtet
- D) dachte
What is the er/sie/es form of denken in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gedacht
- B) hast gedacht
- C) haben gedacht
- D) hat gedacht
What is the du form of denken in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird denken
- B) werden denken
- C) wirst denken
- D) werde denken
What is the ich form of denken in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) dächte
- B) dächtest
- C) dächten
- D) dächtet
What is the wir form of denken in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gedacht
- B) hatte gedacht
- C) hattest gedacht
- D) hattet gedacht
What is the er/sie/es form of denken in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) denket
- B) denke
- C) denkest
- D) denken
What is the du form of denken in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) denkt
- B) denkst
- C) denk
- D) denken
What is the past participle of denken?
- A) gedacht
- B) gesprochen
- C) gelebt
- D) gefahren
What does denken mean in English?
- A) to speak
- B) to live
- C) to drive
- D) to think
Answer key
- B) denke — the ich form of denken in the Present (Präsens) is denke. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) dachte — the er/sie/es form of denken in the Preterite (Präteritum) is dachte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gedacht — the er/sie/es form of denken in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gedacht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wirst denken — the du form of denken in the Future (Futur I) is wirst denken. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) dächte — the ich form of denken in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is dächte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten gedacht — the wir form of denken in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gedacht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) denke — the er/sie/es form of denken in the Konjunktiv I is denke. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) denk — the du form of denken in the Imperative (Imperativ) is denk. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) gedacht — the past participle of denken is gedacht; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to think — denken means “to think” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does denken mean in English?
denken means “to think”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is denken regular or irregular?
denken is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is denkend and the past participle is gedacht.
What are the participles of denken?
The present participle (Partizip I) is denkend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gedacht — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gedacht.
Which auxiliary does denken take in the Perfekt?
denken takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gedacht. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gedacht.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form dächte is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gedacht covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I think about my friends in Berlin” in German?
Say “Ich denke an meine Freunde in Berlin.” — “I think about my friends in Berlin.” The ich form of the present is denke, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of denken — every tense of denken in one place.
- Denken in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Denken examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sprechen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Leben conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Fahren 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 denken with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise denken with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise denken with the interactive tool.