Fühlen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Fühlen means “to feel”, 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 fühlen, 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 fühlen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.” — “I feel a flower in the garden.”
  2. “Du fühlst den Wind im Gesicht.” — “You feel the wind on my face.”
  3. “Ich habe die Sonne auf der Haut gefühlt.” — “I have felt the sun on my skin.”
  4. “Er fühlte eine Blume im Garten.” — “He felt a flower in the garden.”
  5. “Wir werden den Wind im Gesicht fühlen.” — “We will feel the wind on my face.”
  6. “Du hast die Sonne auf der Haut gefühlt.” — “You have felt the sun on my skin.”
  7. “Ich fühlte eine Blume im Garten.” — “I would feel a flower in the garden.”
  8. “Er fühle den Wind im Gesicht.” — “He feels the wind on my face.”
  9. “Wir hatten die Sonne auf der Haut gefühlt.” — “We had felt the sun on my skin.”
  10. “Er wird eine Blume im Garten fühlen.” — “He will feel a flower in the garden.”
  11. “Sie fühlen den Wind im Gesicht.” — “They feel the wind on my face.”
  12. “Fühl die Sonne auf der Haut!” — “Feel the sun on my skin!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Fühlst du eine Blume im Garten?” — “You feel a flower in the garden?” Jonas: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.” — “I feel a flower in the garden.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde den Wind im Gesicht fühlen.” — “I will feel the wind on my face.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe die Sonne auf der Haut gefühlt.” — “I have felt the sun on my skin.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich fühlte eine Blume im Garten.” — “I would feel a flower in the garden.”

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.

Fühlen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, fühlen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is fühle: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.” — “I feel a flower in the garden.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, fühlen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is fühlte: “Er fühlte den Wind im Gesicht.” — “He felt the wind on my face.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, fühlen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gefühlt. The ich form is habe gefühlt: “Ich habe die Sonne auf der Haut gefühlt.” — “I have felt the sun on my skin.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, fühlen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden fühlen: “Wir werden eine Blume im Garten fühlen.” — “We will feel a flower in the garden.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, fühlen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is fühltest: “Du fühltest den Wind im Gesicht.” — “You would feel the wind on my face.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, fühlen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is fühle: “Er fühle die Sonne auf der Haut.” — “He feels the sun on my skin.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich fühlen eine Blume im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.”

The infinitive fühlen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form fühle.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du fühle eine Blume im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Du fühlst eine Blume im Garten.”

fühle is the ich form. With du you need fühlst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe eine Blume im Garten gefühlt.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich fühle eine Blume im Garten.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: fühle, not the indicative fühle.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gefühlt eine Blume im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe eine Blume im Garten gefühlt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) fühlen
    • B) fühle
    • C) fühlst
    • D) fühlt

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

    • A) fühle
    • B) fühlt
    • C) fühlen
    • D) fühlst

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

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

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

    • A) fühlte
    • B) fühltest
    • C) fühltet
    • D) fühlten

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of fühlen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) fühltet
    • B) fühlte
    • C) fühltest
    • D) fühlten

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

    • A) fühlet
    • B) fühle
    • C) fühlest
    • D) fühlen

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of fühlen?

    • A) gegessen
    • B) getrunken
    • C) gefühlt
    • D) gewohnt

  10. What does fühlen mean in English?

  • A) to drink
  • B) to feel
  • C) to live
  • D) to eat

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does fühlen mean in English?

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

Is fühlen regular or irregular?

fühlen is regular in every tense. The present participle is fühlend and the past participle is gefühlt.

How do I practise fühlen every day?

Say one sentence with fühlen 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 fühle eine Blume im Garten.”, “Ich habe eine Blume im Garten gefühlt.” and “Ich werde eine Blume im Garten fühlen.”. 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 fühlen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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