Flüstern: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Flüstern means “to whisper”, 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 flüstern, 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 flüstern, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr jeden Tag.” — “I whisper into my friend's ear every day.”
  2. “Du flüsterst leise mit meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “You whisper quietly with my sister every day.”
  3. “Ich habe im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert gestern.” — “I have whispered in the cinema with my brother yesterday.”
  4. “Er flüsterte meinem Freund ins Ohr gestern.” — “He whispered into my friend's ear yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden leise mit meiner Schwester flüstern morgen.” — “We will whisper quietly with my sister tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert gestern.” — “You have whispered in the cinema with my brother yesterday.”
  7. “Ich flüsterte meinem Freund ins Ohr eines Tages.” — “I would whisper into my friend's ear one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er flüstere leise mit meiner Schwester.” — “It is important that he whisper quietly with my sister.”
  9. “Wir hatten im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert vor der Party.” — “We had whispered in the cinema with my brother before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meinem Freund ins Ohr flüstern morgen.” — “He will whisper into my friend's ear tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie flüstern leise mit meiner Schwester jeden Tag.” — “They whisper quietly with my sister every day.”
  12. “Flüster im Kino mit meinem Bruder!” — “Whisper in the cinema with my brother!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about into my friend's ear. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how flüstern changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of flüstern below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Du flüsterst meinem Freund ins Ohr jeden Tag.” — “You whisper into my friend's ear every day.” Jonas: “Ich flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr jeden Tag.” — “I whisper into my friend's ear every day.” Lena: “Du wirst leise mit meiner Schwester flüstern morgen.” — “You will whisper quietly with my sister tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde leise mit meiner Schwester flüstern morgen.” — “I will whisper quietly with my sister tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert gestern.” — “You have whispered in the cinema with my brother yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert gestern.” — “I have whispered in the cinema with my brother yesterday.” Lena: “Du flüstertest meinem Freund ins Ohr eines Tages.” — “You would whisper into my friend's ear one day.” Jonas: “Ich flüsterte meinem Freund ins Ohr eines Tages.” — “I would whisper into my friend's ear 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.

Flüstern in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, flüstern describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is flüstere: “Ich flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr jeden Tag.” — “I whisper into my friend's ear every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, flüstern describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is flüsterte: “Er flüsterte leise mit meiner Schwester gestern.” — “He whispered quietly with my sister yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, flüstern reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geflüstert. The ich form is habe geflüstert: “Ich habe im Kino mit meinem Bruder geflüstert gestern.” — “I have whispered in the cinema with my brother yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, flüstern talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden flüstern: “Wir werden meinem Freund ins Ohr flüstern morgen.” — “We will whisper into my friend's ear tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, flüstern 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 flüstertest: “Du flüstertest leise mit meiner Schwester eines Tages.” — “You would whisper quietly with my sister one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, flüstern appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is flüstere, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich flüstere im Kino mit meinem Bruder.” — “It is important that I whisper in the cinema with my brother.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich flüstern meinem Freund ins Ohr.”

✓ Right: “Ich flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr.”

The infinitive flüstern never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form flüstere.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr.”

✓ Right: “Du flüsterst meinem Freund ins Ohr.”

flüstere is the ich form. With du you need flüsterst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund ins Ohr geflüstert gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du flüsterst leise mit meiner Schwester.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du flüsterest leise mit meiner Schwester.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: flüsterest, not the indicative flüsterst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geflüstert meinem Freund ins Ohr.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meinem Freund ins Ohr geflüstert.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) flüsterst
    • B) flüstert
    • C) flüstern
    • D) flüstere

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

    • A) flüstern
    • B) flüsterst
    • C) flüstere
    • D) flüstert

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

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

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

    • A) flüstertet
    • B) flüsterten
    • C) flüsterte
    • D) flüstertest

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

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

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

    • A) flüstertest
    • B) flüsterten
    • C) flüstertet
    • D) flüsterte

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

    • A) flüsterest
    • B) flüstern
    • C) flüstert
    • D) flüstere

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

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

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

    • A) geflüstert
    • B) geredet
    • C) erzählt
    • D) geerklärt

  10. What does flüstern mean in English?

  • A) to talk
  • B) to tell
  • C) to explain
  • D) to whisper

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does flüstern mean in English?

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

Is flüstern regular or irregular?

flüstern is regular in every tense. Partizip I is flüsternd and Partizip II is geflüstert.

How do I practise flüstern every day?

Say one sentence with flüstern 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 flüstere meinem Freund ins Ohr jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meinem Freund ins Ohr geflüstert gestern.” and “Ich werde meinem Freund ins Ohr flüstern 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 flüstern, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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