Freuen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Freuen means “to please”, 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 freuen, 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 freuen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.”
  2. “Du freust die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You please the children with the game every day.”
  3. “Ich habe meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut gestern.” — “I have pleased my friend with the news yesterday.”
  4. “Er freute meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gestern.” — “He pleased my mother with the present yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden die Kinder mit dem Spiel freuen morgen.” — “We will please the children with the game tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut gestern.” — “You have pleased my friend with the news yesterday.”
  7. “Ich freute meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk eines Tages.” — “I would please my mother with the present one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er freue die Kinder mit dem Spiel.” — “It is important that he please the children with the game.”
  9. “Wir hatten meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut vor der Party.” — “We had pleased my friend with the news before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk freuen morgen.” — “He will please my mother with the present tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie freuen die Kinder mit dem Spiel jeden Tag.” — “They please the children with the game every day.”
  12. “Freu meinen Freund mit der Nachricht!” — “Please my friend with the news!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du freust meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “You please my mother with the present every day.” Jonas: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.” Lena: “Du wirst die Kinder mit dem Spiel freuen morgen.” — “You will please the children with the game tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde die Kinder mit dem Spiel freuen morgen.” — “I will please the children with the game tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut gestern.” — “You have pleased my friend with the news yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut gestern.” — “I have pleased my friend with the news yesterday.” Lena: “Du freutest meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk eines Tages.” — “You would please my mother with the present one day.” Jonas: “Ich freute meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk eines Tages.” — “I would please my mother with the present 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.

Freuen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, freuen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is freue: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.” — “I please my mother with the present every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, freuen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is freute: “Er freute die Kinder mit dem Spiel gestern.” — “He pleased the children with the game yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, freuen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gefreut. The ich form is habe gefreut: “Ich habe meinen Freund mit der Nachricht gefreut gestern.” — “I have pleased my friend with the news yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, freuen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden freuen: “Wir werden meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk freuen morgen.” — “We will please my mother with the present tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, freuen 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 freutest: “Du freutest die Kinder mit dem Spiel eines Tages.” — “You would please the children with the game one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, freuen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is freue, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich freue meinen Freund mit der Nachricht.” — “It is important that I please my friend with the news.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich freuen meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

✓ Right: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

The infinitive freuen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form freue.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

✓ Right: “Du freust meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

freue is the ich form. With du you need freust. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gefreut gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du freust die Kinder mit dem Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du freuest die Kinder mit dem Spiel.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: freuest, not the indicative freust.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gefreut meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gefreut.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) freuen
    • B) freue
    • C) freust
    • D) freut

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

    • A) freue
    • B) freut
    • C) freuen
    • D) freust

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

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

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

    • A) freute
    • B) freutest
    • C) freutet
    • D) freuten

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

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

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

    • A) freutet
    • B) freute
    • C) freutest
    • D) freuten

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

    • A) freuet
    • B) freue
    • C) freuest
    • D) freuen

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

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

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

    • A) gewartet
    • B) angekommen
    • C) gefreut
    • D) geärgert

  10. What does freuen mean in English?

  • A) to annoy
  • B) to wait
  • C) to arrive
  • D) to please

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does freuen mean in English?

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

Is freuen regular or irregular?

freuen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is freuend and Partizip II is gefreut.

How do I practise freuen every day?

Say one sentence with freuen 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 freue meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk gefreut gestern.” and “Ich werde meine Mutter mit dem Geschenk freuen 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 freuen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages