Duschen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Duschen means “to shower”, 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 duschen, 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 duschen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich dusche am Morgen jeden Tag.” — “I shower in the morning every day.”
  2. “Du duschst nach dem Sport jeden Tag.” — “You shower after sport every day.”
  3. “Ich habe vor der Arbeit geduscht gestern.” — “I have showered before work yesterday.”
  4. “Er duschte am Morgen gestern.” — “He showered in the morning yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden nach dem Sport duschen morgen.” — “We will shower after sport tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast vor der Arbeit geduscht gestern.” — “You have showered before work yesterday.”
  7. “Ich duschte am Morgen eines Tages.” — “I would shower in the morning one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er dusche nach dem Sport.” — “It is important that he shower after sport.”
  9. “Wir hatten vor der Arbeit geduscht vor der Party.” — “We had showered before work before the party.”
  10. “Er wird am Morgen duschen morgen.” — “He will shower in the morning tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie duschen nach dem Sport jeden Tag.” — “They shower after sport every day.”
  12. “Dusch vor der Arbeit!” — “Shower before work!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du duschst am Morgen jeden Tag.” — “You shower in the morning every day.” Jonas: “Ich dusche am Morgen jeden Tag.” — “I shower in the morning every day.” Lena: “Du wirst nach dem Sport duschen morgen.” — “You will shower after sport tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde nach dem Sport duschen morgen.” — “I will shower after sport tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast vor der Arbeit geduscht gestern.” — “You have showered before work yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe vor der Arbeit geduscht gestern.” — “I have showered before work yesterday.” Lena: “Du duschtest am Morgen eines Tages.” — “You would shower in the morning one day.” Jonas: “Ich duschte am Morgen eines Tages.” — “I would shower in the morning one day.”

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.

Duschen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, duschen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is dusche: “Ich dusche am Morgen jeden Tag.” — “I shower in the morning every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, duschen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is duschte: “Er duschte nach dem Sport gestern.” — “He showered after sport yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, duschen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geduscht. The ich form is habe geduscht: “Ich habe vor der Arbeit geduscht gestern.” — “I have showered before work yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, duschen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden duschen: “Wir werden am Morgen duschen morgen.” — “We will shower in the morning tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, duschen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is duschtest: “Du duschtest nach dem Sport eines Tages.” — “You would shower after sport one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, duschen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is dusche, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich dusche vor der Arbeit.” — “It is important that I shower before work.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich duschen am Morgen.”

✓ Right: “Ich dusche am Morgen.”

The infinitive duschen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form dusche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du dusche am Morgen.”

✓ Right: “Du duschst am Morgen.”

dusche is the ich form. With du you need duschst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich dusche am Morgen gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe am Morgen geduscht gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du duschst nach dem Sport.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du duschest nach dem Sport.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: duschest, not the indicative duschst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geduscht am Morgen.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe am Morgen geduscht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) dusche
    • B) duschst
    • C) duscht
    • D) duschen

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

    • A) duscht
    • B) duschen
    • C) duschst
    • D) dusche

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

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

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

    • A) duschtest
    • B) duschtet
    • C) duschten
    • D) duschte

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of duschen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) duschte
    • B) duschtest
    • C) duschten
    • D) duschtet

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

    • A) dusche
    • B) duschest
    • C) duschen
    • D) duschet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of duschen?

    • A) ausgezogen
    • B) geduscht
    • C) gebadet
    • D) angezogen

  10. What does duschen mean in English?

  • A) to take off
  • B) to shower
  • C) to bathe
  • D) to put on

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does duschen mean in English?

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

Is duschen regular or irregular?

duschen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is duschend and Partizip II is geduscht.

How do I practise duschen every day?

Say one sentence with duschen 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 dusche am Morgen jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe am Morgen geduscht gestern.” and “Ich werde am Morgen duschen morgen.”. 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 duschen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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