Entscheiden Conjugation in German
entscheiden means “to decide” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 199 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about deciding on the train, 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 entscheiden — every tense, every person, both participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: entscheiden
- English: to decide
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Pattern: strong
- Separable: no
- Participle I: entscheidend
- Past participle (Partizip II): entschieden
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for entscheiden, 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 entscheiden in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about entscheiden
- 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 perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle entschieden. The tables on this page give the participle in the uninflected form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- Partizip I is entscheidend and Partizip II is entschieden: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because Partizip I appears in adjectival uses and Partizip II 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 entscheiden. 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 | entscheide |
| du | entscheidest |
| er/sie/es | entscheidet |
| wir | entscheiden |
| ihr | entscheidet |
| sie/Sie | entscheiden |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With entscheiden 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 entscheide mich für das Buch jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the book every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | entschied |
| du | entschiedest |
| er/sie/es | entschied |
| wir | entschieden |
| ihr | entschiedet |
| sie/Sie | entschieden |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With entscheiden 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 entschiedest mich für das Buch gestern.” — “You decided on the book yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe entschieden |
| du | hast entschieden |
| er/sie/es | hat entschieden |
| wir | haben entschieden |
| ihr | habt entschieden |
| sie/Sie | haben entschieden |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat mich für das Buch entschieden gestern.” — “He has decided on the book yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte entschieden |
| du | hattest entschieden |
| er/sie/es | hatte entschieden |
| wir | hatten entschieden |
| ihr | hattet entschieden |
| sie/Sie | hatten entschieden |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten mich für das Buch entschieden vor der Party.” — “We had decided on the book before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde entscheiden |
| du | wirst entscheiden |
| er/sie/es | wird entscheiden |
| wir | werden entscheiden |
| ihr | werdet entscheiden |
| sie/Sie | werden entscheiden |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde mich für das Buch entscheiden morgen.” — “I will decide on the book tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde entschieden haben |
| du | wirst entschieden haben |
| er/sie/es | wird entschieden haben |
| wir | werden entschieden haben |
| ihr | werdet entschieden haben |
| sie/Sie | werden entschieden haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst mich für das Buch entschieden haben bis morgen.” — “You will have decided on the book by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | entscheide |
| du | entscheidest |
| er/sie/es | entscheide |
| wir | entscheiden |
| ihr | entscheidet |
| sie/Sie | entscheiden |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er entscheide mich für das Buch.” — “It is important that he decide on the book.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | entschiede |
| du | entschiedest |
| er/sie/es | entschiede |
| wir | entschieden |
| ihr | entschiedet |
| sie/Sie | entschieden |
Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, hypothetical situations and polite requests. It doubles as the conditional: there is no separate würde tense in the tables, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive is a way of expressing the same meaning, not a tense of its own. For example: “Ich entschiede mich für das Buch eines Tages.” — “I would decide on the book one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte entschieden |
| du | hättest entschieden |
| er/sie/es | hätte entschieden |
| wir | hätten entschieden |
| ihr | hättet entschieden |
| sie/Sie | hätten entschieden |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte mich für das Buch entschieden gestern.” — “He would have decided on the book yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | entscheide |
| wir | entscheiden |
| ihr | entscheidet |
| sie | entscheiden |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With entscheiden 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: “Entscheide mich für das Buch!” — “Decide on the book!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | entscheidend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle entscheidend describes something that is deciding. The present-tense sentence “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | entschieden |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe mich für den Zug entschieden gestern.” — “I have decided on the train yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | entscheiden |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive entscheiden is the form you look up in a dictionary. In a sentence it appears after a modal verb or with zu, and in the future it follows werden, as in “Ich werde mich für den Zug entscheiden morgen.” — “I will decide on the train tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with entscheiden, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.”
- “Du entschiedest mich für das Buch gestern.” — “You decided on the book yesterday.”
- “Er hat mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “He has decided on the film yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten mich für den Zug entschieden vor der Party.” — “We had decided on the train before the party.”
- “Ich werde mich für das Buch entscheiden morgen.” — “I will decide on the book tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst mich für den Film entschieden haben bis morgen.” — “You will have decided on the film by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er entscheide mich für den Zug.” — “It is important that he decide on the train.”
- “Ich entschiede mich für das Buch eines Tages.” — “I would decide on the book one day.”
- “Er hätte mich für den Film entschieden gestern.” — “He would have decided on the film yesterday.”
- “Entscheide mich für den Zug!” — “Decide on the train!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich entscheiden mich für den Zug.”
✓ Right: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug.”
The infinitive entscheiden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form entscheide.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich entscheiden mich für den Zug.”
✓ Right: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug.”
entscheiden is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with entscheide.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe mich für den Zug entschieden gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe entschieden, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich entscheide mich für den Zug.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich entscheide mich für den Zug.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use entscheide here, not the indicative entscheide.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin entschieden mich für den Zug.”
✓ Right: “habe entschieden mich für den Zug.”
The Perfekt of entscheiden is formed with haben plus the past participle entschieden: the ich form is habe entschieden. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich entschied mich für den Zug jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.”
The preterite entschied describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present entscheide.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on entscheiden. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of entscheiden in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) entscheide
- B) entscheidest
- C) entscheidet
- D) entscheiden
What is the du form of entscheiden in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) entschiedet
- B) entschiedest
- C) entschied
- D) entschieden
What is the er/sie/es form of entscheiden in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben entschieden
- B) hat entschieden
- C) habe entschieden
- D) hast entschieden
What is the wir form of entscheiden in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest entschieden
- B) hattet entschieden
- C) hatten entschieden
- D) hatte entschieden
What is the du form of entscheiden in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden entscheiden
- B) wirst entscheiden
- C) werde entscheiden
- D) wird entscheiden
What is the ich form of entscheiden in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werden entschieden haben
- B) werde entschieden haben
- C) wirst entschieden haben
- D) wird entschieden haben
What is the er/sie/es form of entscheiden in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) entscheide
- B) entscheidest
- C) entscheiden
- D) entscheidet
What is the ich form of entscheiden in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) entschiede
- B) entschiedest
- C) entschieden
- D) entschiedet
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of entscheiden?
- A) versuchend
- B) probierend
- C) entscheidend
- D) wählend
What does entscheiden mean in English?
- A) to vote, to choose
- B) to try
- C) to try, to taste
- D) to decide
Answer key
- A) entscheide — the ich form of entscheiden in the Present (Präsens) is entscheide. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) entschiedest — the du form of entscheiden in the Preterite (Präteritum) is entschiedest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hat entschieden — the er/sie/es form of entscheiden in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat entschieden. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatten entschieden — the wir form of entscheiden in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten entschieden. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst entscheiden — the du form of entscheiden in the Future (Futur I) is wirst entscheiden. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) werde entschieden haben — the ich form of entscheiden in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde entschieden haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) entscheide — the er/sie/es form of entscheiden in the Konjunktiv I is entscheide. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) entschiede — the ich form of entscheiden in the Konjunktiv II is entschiede. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) entscheidend — the present participle (Partizip I) of entscheiden is entscheidend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to decide — entscheiden means “to decide” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does entscheiden mean in English?
entscheiden means “to decide”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is entscheiden regular or irregular?
entscheiden is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is entscheidend and Partizip II is entschieden.
What are the participles of entscheiden?
Partizip I is entscheidend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is entschieden — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe entschieden.
Which auxiliary does entscheiden take in the Perfekt?
entscheiden takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe entschieden. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle entschieden.
How do I say “I decide” in German?
Say “Ich entscheide mich für den Zug jeden Tag.” — “I decide on the train every day.” The ich form of the present is entscheide, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of entscheiden — every tense of entscheiden in one place.
- Entscheiden in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Entscheiden examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Wählen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Versuchen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Probieren 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 entscheiden with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise entscheiden with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise entscheiden with the interactive tool.