Gewinnen Conjugation in German

gewinnen means “to win” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 54 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about winning the game, 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 gewinnen — 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 gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: gewinnen
  • English: to win
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
  • Pattern: strong
  • Separable: no
  • Participle I: gewinnend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): gewonnen
  • 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 gewinnen, 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 gewinnen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about gewinnen

  1. It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gewonnen. 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.
  3. Partizip I is gewinnend and Partizip II is gewonnen: 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 gewinnen. 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 gewinne
du gewinnst
er/sie/es gewinnt
wir gewinnen
ihr gewinnt
sie/Sie gewinnen

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With gewinnen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich gewinne einen Preis jeden Tag.” — “I win a prize every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich gewann
du gewannst
er/sie/es gewann
wir gewannen
ihr gewannt
sie/Sie gewannen

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With gewinnen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du gewannst einen Preis gestern.” — “You won a prize yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe gewonnen
du hast gewonnen
er/sie/es hat gewonnen
wir haben gewonnen
ihr habt gewonnen
sie/Sie haben gewonnen

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat einen Preis gewonnen gestern.” — “He has won a prize yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte gewonnen
du hattest gewonnen
er/sie/es hatte gewonnen
wir hatten gewonnen
ihr hattet gewonnen
sie/Sie hatten gewonnen

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten einen Preis gewonnen vor der Party.” — “We had won a prize before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde gewinnen
du wirst gewinnen
er/sie/es wird gewinnen
wir werden gewinnen
ihr werdet gewinnen
sie/Sie werden gewinnen

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde einen Preis gewinnen morgen.” — “I will win a prize tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde gewonnen haben
du wirst gewonnen haben
er/sie/es wird gewonnen haben
wir werden gewonnen haben
ihr werdet gewonnen haben
sie/Sie werden gewonnen haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst einen Preis gewonnen haben bis morgen.” — “You will have won a prize by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich gewinne
du gewinnest
er/sie/es gewinne
wir gewinnen
ihr gewinnet
sie/Sie gewinnen

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er gewinne einen Preis.” — “It is important that he win a prize.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich gewänne
du gewännest
er/sie/es gewänne
wir gewännen
ihr gewännet
sie/Sie gewännen

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 gewänne einen Preis eines Tages.” — “I would win a prize one day.”

Conditional perfect

Person Form
ich hätte gewonnen
du hättest gewonnen
er/sie/es hätte gewonnen
wir hätten gewonnen
ihr hättet gewonnen
sie/Sie hätten gewonnen

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte einen Preis gewonnen gestern.” — “He would have won a prize yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du gewinn
wir gewinnen
ihr gewinnt
sie gewinnen

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With gewinnen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Gewinn einen Preis!” — “Win a prize!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle gewinnend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle gewinnend describes something that is winning. The present-tense sentence “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle gewonnen

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe das Spiel gewonnen gestern.” — “I have won the game yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive gewinnen

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive gewinnen 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 das Spiel gewinnen morgen.” — “I will win the game tomorrow.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with gewinnen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.”
  2. “Du gewannst einen Preis gestern.” — “You won a prize yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “He has won the championship yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten das Spiel gewonnen vor der Party.” — “We had won the game before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde einen Preis gewinnen morgen.” — “I will win a prize tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst die Meisterschaft gewonnen haben bis morgen.” — “You will have won the championship by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er gewinne das Spiel.” — “It is important that he win the game.”
  8. “Ich gewänne einen Preis eines Tages.” — “I would win a prize one day.”
  9. “Er hätte die Meisterschaft gewonnen gestern.” — “He would have won the championship yesterday.”
  10. “Gewinn das Spiel!” — “Win the game!”

Common mistakes

1. 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 present form gewinne.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewinnen das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Ich gewinne das Spiel.”

gewinnen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with gewinne.

3. 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.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich gewinne das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich gewinne das Spiel.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use gewinne here, not the indicative gewinne.

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin gewonnen das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “habe gewonnen das Spiel.”

The Perfekt of gewinnen is formed with haben plus the past participle gewonnen: the ich form is habe gewonnen. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich gewann das Spiel jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.”

The preterite gewann describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present gewinne.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on gewinnen. Choose the right form, 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 Preterite (Präteritum)?

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

  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 Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

  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 Future perfect (Futur II)?

    • A) wird gewonnen haben
    • B) werden gewonnen haben
    • C) werde gewonnen haben
    • D) wirst gewonnen haben

  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 Konjunktiv II?

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

  9. What is the present participle (Partizip I) of gewinnen?

    • A) endend
    • B) gewinnend
    • C) verlierend
    • D) beginnend

  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) gewannst — the du form of gewinnen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is gewannst. 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. D) hatten gewonnen — the wir form of gewinnen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gewonnen. 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. C) werde gewonnen haben — the ich form of gewinnen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gewonnen haben. 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. A) gewänne — the ich form of gewinnen in the Konjunktiv II is gewänne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) gewinnend — the present participle (Partizip I) of gewinnen is gewinnend. 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is gewinnend and Partizip II is gewonnen.

What are the participles of gewinnen?

Partizip I is gewinnend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is gewonnen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gewonnen.

Which auxiliary does gewinnen take in the Perfekt?

gewinnen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gewonnen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gewonnen.

How do I say “I win” in German?

Say “Ich gewinne das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I win the game every day.” The ich form of the present is gewinne, and it is the form you will use most often.

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