Glauben: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Glauben means “to believe”, 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 glauben, 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 glauben, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich glaube an die Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I believe the story every day.”
  2. “Du glaubst an meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “You believe in my friend every day.”
  3. “Ich habe an das Glück geglaubt gestern.” — “I have believed in good luck yesterday.”
  4. “Er glaubte an die Geschichte gestern.” — “He believed the story yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden an meinen Freund glauben morgen.” — “We will believe in my friend tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast an das Glück geglaubt gestern.” — “You have believed in good luck yesterday.”
  7. “Ich glaubte an die Geschichte eines Tages.” — “I would believe the story one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er glaube an meinen Freund.” — “It is important that he believe in my friend.”
  9. “Wir hatten an das Glück geglaubt vor der Party.” — “We had believed in good luck before the party.”
  10. “Er wird an die Geschichte glauben morgen.” — “He will believe the story tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie glauben an meinen Freund jeden Tag.” — “They believe in my friend every day.”
  12. “Glaub an das Glück!” — “Believe in good luck!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du glaubst an die Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “You believe the story every day.” Jonas: “Ich glaube an die Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I believe the story every day.” Lena: “Du wirst an meinen Freund glauben morgen.” — “You will believe in my friend tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde an meinen Freund glauben morgen.” — “I will believe in my friend tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast an das Glück geglaubt gestern.” — “You have believed in good luck yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe an das Glück geglaubt gestern.” — “I have believed in good luck yesterday.” Lena: “Du glaubtest an die Geschichte eines Tages.” — “You would believe the story one day.” Jonas: “Ich glaubte an die Geschichte eines Tages.” — “I would believe the story 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.

Glauben in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, glauben describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is glaube: “Ich glaube an die Geschichte jeden Tag.” — “I believe the story every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, glauben describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is glaubte: “Er glaubte an meinen Freund gestern.” — “He believed in my friend yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, glauben reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geglaubt. The ich form is habe geglaubt: “Ich habe an das Glück geglaubt gestern.” — “I have believed in good luck yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, glauben talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden glauben: “Wir werden an die Geschichte glauben morgen.” — “We will believe the story tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, glauben 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 glaubtest: “Du glaubtest an meinen Freund eines Tages.” — “You would believe in my friend one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, glauben appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is glaube, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich glaube an das Glück.” — “It is important that I believe in good luck.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich glauben an die Geschichte.”

✓ Right: “Ich glaube an die Geschichte.”

The infinitive glauben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form glaube.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du glaube an die Geschichte.”

✓ Right: “Du glaubst an die Geschichte.”

glaube is the ich form. With du you need glaubst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich glaube an die Geschichte gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe an die Geschichte geglaubt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du glaubst an meinen Freund.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du glaubest an meinen Freund.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: glaubest, not the indicative glaubst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geglaubt an die Geschichte.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe an die Geschichte geglaubt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) glaube
    • B) glaubst
    • C) glaubt
    • D) glauben

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

    • A) glaubt
    • B) glauben
    • C) glaubst
    • D) glaube

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

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

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

    • A) glaubtest
    • B) glaubtet
    • C) glaubten
    • D) glaubte

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

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

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

    • A) glaubte
    • B) glaubtest
    • C) glaubten
    • D) glaubtet

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

    • A) glaube
    • B) glaubest
    • C) glauben
    • D) glaubet

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

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

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

    • A) geerinnert
    • B) geglaubt
    • C) gemeint
    • D) vergessen

  10. What does glauben mean in English?

  • A) to remember
  • B) to believe
  • C) to mean
  • D) to forget

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does glauben mean in English?

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

Is glauben regular or irregular?

glauben is regular in every tense. Partizip I is glaubend and Partizip II is geglaubt.

How do I practise glauben every day?

Say one sentence with glauben 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 glaube an die Geschichte jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe an die Geschichte geglaubt gestern.” and “Ich werde an die Geschichte glauben 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 glauben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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