Empfangen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

How do you actually use empfangen — “to receive” — in a real sentence? This page shows you: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue, the mistakes learners make most often with this verb, and a quiz to test yourself. Every German form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for empfangen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I receive a letter from my sister.”

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

Empfangen in real sentences

Twelve sentences with empfangen, covering the present, the Präteritum, the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt, the future, Konjunktiv I and II, and the imperative. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I receive a letter from my sister.”
  2. “Du empfängst einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “You receive a letter from my sister.”
  3. “Er empfängt einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “He receives a letter from my sister.”
  4. “Ich empfing einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I received a letter from my sister.”
  5. “Wir empfingen einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “We received a letter from my sister.”
  6. “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.”
  7. “Du hast einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “You have received a letter from my sister.”
  8. “Ich hatte einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I had received a letter from my sister.”
  9. “Wir werden einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “We will receive a letter from my sister.”
  10. “Ich werde einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen haben.” — “I will have received a letter from my sister.”
  11. “Es ist wichtig, dass ich einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfange.” — “It is important that I receive a letter from my sister.”
  12. “Ich empfinge einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I would receive a letter from my sister if I could.”
  13. “Ich hätte einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I would have received a letter from my sister if I had been able to.”
  14. “Empfang einen Brief von meiner Schwester!” — “Receive a letter from my sister!”

A short dialogue with empfangen

Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of empfangen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.

Anna: “Du empfängst einen Brief von meiner Schwester?” — “You receive a letter from my sister?”

Ben: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I receive a letter from my sister.”

Anna: “Du hast einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen?” — “You have received a letter from my sister?”

Ben: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.”

Anna: “Du wirst einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen?” — “You will receive a letter from my sister?”

Ben: “Ich werde einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I will receive a letter from my sister.”

Anna: “Empfang einen Brief von meiner Schwester!” — “Receive a letter from my sister!”

Ben: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” — “I receive a letter from my sister.”

Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: empfange, empfängst, habe empfangen, werde empfangen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know empfangen well enough to use it.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich empfangen einen Brief von meiner Schwester.”

✓ Right: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.”

The infinitive empfangen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form empfange.

2. Confusing empfangen with bekommen

✗ Wrong: “Ich bekommen einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” (using the wrong verb)

✓ Right: “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.”

empfangen means “to receive”; bekommen means “to get”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.

3. Applying the regular pattern to empfangen

✗ Wrong: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester geempfangt.” (a guessed regular participle)

✓ Right: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.”

empfangen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Its past participle is empfangen, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.

4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfängst.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangest.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use empfangest here, not the indicative empfängst.

Quiz: test yourself

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

    • A) empfange
    • B) empfangen
    • C) empfangt
    • D) empfängst

  2. What is the er/sie/es form of empfangen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) empfängt
    • B) empfange
    • C) empfangen
    • D) empfängst

  3. What is the du form of empfangen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) empfing
    • B) empfingt
    • C) empfingst
    • D) empfingen

  4. What is the wir form of empfangen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) habe empfangen
    • B) habt empfangen
    • C) hat empfangen
    • D) haben empfangen

  5. What is the ich form of empfangen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) wird empfangen
    • B) werde empfangen
    • C) wirst empfangen
    • D) werdet empfangen

  6. What is the du form of empfangen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) empfingest
    • B) empfingen
    • C) empfinge
    • D) empfinget

  7. What is the ich form of empfangen in the Conditional perfect?

    • A) hätte empfangen
    • B) hätten empfangen
    • C) hättet empfangen
    • D) hättest empfangen

  8. What is the past participle of empfangen?

    • A) empfangend
    • B) empfange
    • C) empfing
    • D) empfangen

  9. What is the present participle of empfangen?

    • A) empfangen
    • B) werde empfangen
    • C) empfange
    • D) empfangend

  10. What does empfangen mean in English?

  • A) to get
  • B) to do
  • C) to come
  • D) to receive

Answer key

  1. A) empfange — the ich form of empfangen in the present tense is empfange.
  2. A) empfängt — the er/sie/es form of empfangen in the present tense is empfängt.
  3. C) empfingst — the du form of empfangen in the preterite is empfingst.
  4. D) haben empfangen — the wir form of empfangen in the Perfekt is haben empfangen.
  5. B) werde empfangen — the ich form of empfangen in the Futur I is werde empfangen.
  6. A) empfingest — the du form of empfangen in the Konjunktiv II is empfingest.
  7. A) hätte empfangen — the ich form of empfangen in the conditional perfect is hätte empfangen.
  8. D) empfangen — the past participle of empfangen is empfangen; perfect tenses use haben + empfangen.
  9. D) empfangend — the present participle of empfangen is empfangend.
  10. D) to receive — empfangen means “to receive” in English.

Frequently asked questions

What does empfangen mean in English?

empfangen means “to receive”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Ich empfange einen Brief von meiner Schwester.” (“I receive a letter from my sister.”).

Is empfangen regular or irregular?

empfangen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The full tables are on the conjugation page.

How do I use empfangen in the Perfekt?

Use haben + the past participle empfangen: “Ich habe einen Brief von meiner Schwester empfangen.” — “I have received a letter from my sister.” The full Perfekt table is on the empfangen in the Perfekt tense page.

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