Fürchten Conjugation in German
fürchten means “to fear” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 303 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about fearing the dark, 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 fürchten — 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 fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: fürchten
- English: to fear
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Pattern: weak
- Separable: no
- Participle I: fürchtend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gefürchtet
- 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 fürchten, 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 fürchten in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about fürchten
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gefürchtet. 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 fürchtend and Partizip II is gefürchtet: 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 fürchten. 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 | fürchte |
| du | fürchtest |
| er/sie/es | fürchtet |
| wir | fürchten |
| ihr | fürchtet |
| sie/Sie | fürchten |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich fürchte den Hund jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dog every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | fürchtete |
| du | fürchtetest |
| er/sie/es | fürchtete |
| wir | fürchteten |
| ihr | fürchtetet |
| sie/Sie | fürchteten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du fürchtetest den Hund gestern.” — “You feared the dog yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gefürchtet |
| du | hast gefürchtet |
| er/sie/es | hat gefürchtet |
| wir | haben gefürchtet |
| ihr | habt gefürchtet |
| sie/Sie | haben gefürchtet |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat den Hund gefürchtet gestern.” — “He has feared the dog yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gefürchtet |
| du | hattest gefürchtet |
| er/sie/es | hatte gefürchtet |
| wir | hatten gefürchtet |
| ihr | hattet gefürchtet |
| sie/Sie | hatten gefürchtet |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten den Hund gefürchtet vor der Party.” — “We had feared the dog before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde fürchten |
| du | wirst fürchten |
| er/sie/es | wird fürchten |
| wir | werden fürchten |
| ihr | werdet fürchten |
| sie/Sie | werden fürchten |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde den Hund fürchten morgen.” — “I will fear the dog tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gefürchtet haben |
| du | wirst gefürchtet haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gefürchtet haben |
| wir | werden gefürchtet haben |
| ihr | werdet gefürchtet haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gefürchtet haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst den Hund gefürchtet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have feared the dog by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | fürchte |
| du | fürchtest |
| er/sie/es | fürchte |
| wir | fürchten |
| ihr | fürchtet |
| sie/Sie | fürchten |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er fürchte den Hund.” — “It is important that he fear the dog.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | fürchtete |
| du | fürchtetest |
| er/sie/es | fürchtete |
| wir | fürchteten |
| ihr | fürchtetet |
| sie/Sie | fürchteten |
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 fürchtete den Hund eines Tages.” — “I would fear the dog one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gefürchtet |
| du | hättest gefürchtet |
| er/sie/es | hätte gefürchtet |
| wir | hätten gefürchtet |
| ihr | hättet gefürchtet |
| sie/Sie | hätten gefürchtet |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte den Hund gefürchtet gestern.” — “He would have feared the dog yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | fürchte |
| wir | fürchten |
| ihr | fürchtet |
| sie | fürchten |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Fürchte den Hund!” — “Fear the dog!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | fürchtend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle fürchtend describes something that is fearing. The present-tense sentence “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | gefürchtet |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe die Dunkelheit gefürchtet gestern.” — “I have feared the dark yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | fürchten |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive fürchten 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 die Dunkelheit fürchten morgen.” — “I will fear the dark tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with fürchten, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.”
- “Du fürchtetest den Hund gestern.” — “You feared the dog yesterday.”
- “Er hat die Prüfung gefürchtet gestern.” — “He has feared the exam yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten die Dunkelheit gefürchtet vor der Party.” — “We had feared the dark before the party.”
- “Ich werde den Hund fürchten morgen.” — “I will fear the dog tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst die Prüfung gefürchtet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have feared the exam by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er fürchte die Dunkelheit.” — “It is important that he fear the dark.”
- “Ich fürchtete den Hund eines Tages.” — “I would fear the dog one day.”
- “Er hätte die Prüfung gefürchtet gestern.” — “He would have feared the exam yesterday.”
- “Fürchte die Dunkelheit!” — “Fear the dark!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich fürchten die Dunkelheit.”
✓ Right: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.”
The infinitive fürchten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form fürchte.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich fürchten die Dunkelheit.”
✓ Right: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.”
fürchten is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with fürchte.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Dunkelheit gefürchtet gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gefürchtet, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich fürchte die Dunkelheit.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use fürchte here, not the indicative fürchte.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin gefürchtet die Dunkelheit.”
✓ Right: “habe gefürchtet die Dunkelheit.”
The Perfekt of fürchten is formed with haben plus the past participle gefürchtet: the ich form is habe gefürchtet. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich fürchtete die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.”
The preterite fürchtete describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present fürchte.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on fürchten. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of fürchten in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) fürchte
- B) fürchtest
- C) fürchtet
- D) fürchten
What is the du form of fürchten in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) fürchtetest
- B) fürchtete
- C) fürchteten
- D) fürchtetet
What is the er/sie/es form of fürchten in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gefürchtet
- B) hast gefürchtet
- C) haben gefürchtet
- D) hat gefürchtet
What is the wir form of fürchten in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gefürchtet
- B) hatte gefürchtet
- C) hattest gefürchtet
- D) hattet gefürchtet
What is the du form of fürchten in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden fürchten
- B) wirst fürchten
- C) werde fürchten
- D) wird fürchten
What is the ich form of fürchten in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gefürchtet haben
- B) wird gefürchtet haben
- C) werden gefürchtet haben
- D) werde gefürchtet haben
What is the er/sie/es form of fürchten in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) fürchte
- B) fürchtest
- C) fürchten
- D) fürchtet
What is the ich form of fürchten in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) fürchtetest
- B) fürchteten
- C) fürchtetet
- D) fürchtete
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of fürchten?
- A) freuend
- B) ärgernd
- C) fürchtend
- D) sorgend
What does fürchten mean in English?
- A) to worry
- B) to please
- C) to annoy
- D) to fear
Answer key
- A) fürchte — the ich form of fürchten in the Present (Präsens) is fürchte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) fürchtetest — the du form of fürchten in the Preterite (Präteritum) is fürchtetest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gefürchtet — the er/sie/es form of fürchten in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gefürchtet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten gefürchtet — the wir form of fürchten in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gefürchtet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst fürchten — the du form of fürchten in the Future (Futur I) is wirst fürchten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) werde gefürchtet haben — the ich form of fürchten in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gefürchtet haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) fürchte — the er/sie/es form of fürchten in the Konjunktiv I is fürchte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) fürchtete — the ich form of fürchten in the Konjunktiv II is fürchtete. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) fürchtend — the present participle (Partizip I) of fürchten is fürchtend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to fear — fürchten means “to fear” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does fürchten mean in English?
fürchten means “to fear”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is fürchten regular or irregular?
fürchten is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is fürchtend and Partizip II is gefürchtet.
What are the participles of fürchten?
Partizip I is fürchtend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is gefürchtet — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gefürchtet.
Which auxiliary does fürchten take in the Perfekt?
fürchten takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gefürchtet. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gefürchtet.
How do I say “I fear” in German?
Say “Ich fürchte die Dunkelheit jeden Tag.” — “I fear the dark every day.” The ich form of the present is fürchte, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of fürchten — every tense of fürchten in one place.
- Fürchten in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Fürchten examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sorgen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Freuen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Ärgern conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- 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 fürchten with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise fürchten with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise fürchten with the interactive tool.