Gewinnen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Gewinnen means “to win”, 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 gewinnen, 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 gewinnen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.”
  2. “Du gewinnst einen Preis jeden Tag.” — “You win a prize every day.”
  3. “Ich habe die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “I have won the championship yesterday.”
  4. “Er gewann das Spiel gestern.” — “He won the game yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden einen Preis gewinnen morgen.” — “We will win a prize tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “You have won the championship yesterday.”
  7. “Ich gewänne das Spiel eines Tages.” — “I would win the game one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er gewinne einen Preis.” — “It is important that he win a prize.”
  9. “Wir hatten die Meisterschaft gewonnen vor der Party.” — “We had won the championship before the party.”
  10. “Er wird das Spiel gewinnen morgen.” — “He will win the game tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie gewinnen einen Preis jeden Tag.” — “They win a prize every day.”
  12. “Gewinn die Meisterschaft!” — “Win the championship!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du gewinnst das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You win the game every day.” Jonas: “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.” Lena: “Du wirst einen Preis gewinnen morgen.” — “You will win a prize tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde einen Preis gewinnen morgen.” — “I will win a prize tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “You have won the championship yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “I have won the championship yesterday.” Lena: “Du gewännest das Spiel eines Tages.” — “You would win the game one day.” Jonas: “Ich gewänne das Spiel eines Tages.” — “I would win the game 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.

Gewinnen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, gewinnen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is gewinne: “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, gewinnen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is gewann: “Er gewann einen Preis gestern.” — “He won a prize yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, gewinnen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gewonnen. The ich form is habe gewonnen: “Ich habe die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “I have won the championship yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, gewinnen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden gewinnen: “Wir werden das Spiel gewinnen morgen.” — “We will win the game tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, gewinnen 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 gewännest: “Du gewännest einen Preis eines Tages.” — “You would win a prize one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, gewinnen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is gewinne, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich gewinne die Meisterschaft.” — “It is important that I win the championship.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewinnen das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Ich gewinne das Spiel.”

The infinitive gewinnen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form gewinne.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du gewinne das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Du gewinnst das Spiel.”

gewinne is the ich form. With du you need gewinnst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewinne das Spiel gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe das Spiel gewonnen gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du gewinnst einen Preis.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du gewinnest einen Preis.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: gewinnest, not the indicative gewinnst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewonnen das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe das Spiel gewonnen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) gewinnst
    • B) gewinnt
    • C) gewinnen
    • D) gewinne

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

    • A) gewinnen
    • B) gewinnst
    • C) gewinne
    • D) gewinnt

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

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

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

    • A) gewannt
    • B) gewannen
    • C) gewann
    • D) gewannst

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

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

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

    • A) gewänne
    • B) gewännest
    • C) gewännen
    • D) gewännet

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

    • A) gewinnest
    • B) gewinnen
    • C) gewinnet
    • D) gewinne

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

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

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

    • A) verloren
    • B) begonnen
    • C) geendet
    • D) gewonnen

  10. What does gewinnen mean in English?

  • A) to lose
  • B) to begin
  • C) to end
  • D) to win

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does gewinnen mean in English?

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

Is gewinnen regular or irregular?

gewinnen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is gewinnend and Partizip II is gewonnen.

How do I practise gewinnen every day?

Say one sentence with gewinnen 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 gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe das Spiel gewonnen gestern.” and “Ich werde das Spiel gewinnen 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 gewinnen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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