Hassen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Hassen means “to hate”, 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 hassen, 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 hassen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.” — “I hate cold in winter.”
  2. “Du hasst Lärm am Morgen.” — “You hate noise in the morning.”
  3. “Ich habe lange Wartezeiten gehasst.” — “I have hated long waiting times.”
  4. “Er hasste Kälte im Winter.” — “He hated cold in winter.”
  5. “Wir werden Lärm am Morgen hassen.” — “We will hate noise in the morning.”
  6. “Du hast lange Wartezeiten gehasst.” — “You have hated long waiting times.”
  7. “Ich hasste Kälte im Winter.” — “I would hate cold in winter.”
  8. “Er hasse Lärm am Morgen.” — “He hates noise in the morning.”
  9. “Wir hatten lange Wartezeiten gehasst.” — “We had hated long waiting times.”
  10. “Er wird Kälte im Winter hassen.” — “He will hate cold in winter.”
  11. “Sie hassen Lärm am Morgen.” — “They hate noise in the morning.”
  12. “Hass lange Wartezeiten!” — “Hate long waiting times!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Hasst du Kälte im Winter?” — “You hate cold in winter?” Jonas: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.” — “I hate cold in winter.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Lärm am Morgen hassen.” — “I will hate noise in the morning.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe lange Wartezeiten gehasst.” — “I have hated long waiting times.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich hasste Kälte im Winter.” — “I would hate cold in winter.”

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.

Hassen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, hassen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is hasse: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.” — “I hate cold in winter.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, hassen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is hasste: “Er hasste Lärm am Morgen.” — “He hated noise in the morning.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, hassen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gehasst. The ich form is habe gehasst: “Ich habe lange Wartezeiten gehasst.” — “I have hated long waiting times.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, hassen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden hassen: “Wir werden Kälte im Winter hassen.” — “We will hate cold in winter.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, hassen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is hasstest: “Du hasstest Lärm am Morgen.” — “You would hate noise in the morning.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, hassen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is hasse: “Er hasse lange Wartezeiten.” — “He hates long waiting times.” 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 hassen Kälte im Winter.”

✓ Right: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.”

The infinitive hassen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form hasse.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du hasse Kälte im Winter.”

✓ Right: “Du hasst Kälte im Winter.”

hasse is the ich form. With du you need hasst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Kälte im Winter gehasst.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich hasse Kälte im Winter.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gehasst Kälte im Winter.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Kälte im Winter gehasst.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) hasse
    • B) hasst
    • C) hassen
    • D) hasste

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

    • A) hasstest
    • B) hasst
    • C) hasse
    • D) hassen

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

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

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

    • A) hasstest
    • B) hasstet
    • C) hassten
    • D) hasste

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

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

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

    • A) hasste
    • B) hasstest
    • C) hassten
    • D) hasstet

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

    • A) hasse
    • B) hassest
    • C) hassen
    • D) hasset

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of hassen?

    • A) gekauft
    • B) gehasst
    • C) gebraucht
    • D) gesucht

  10. What does hassen mean in English?

  • A) to need
  • B) to search
  • C) to buy
  • D) to hate

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does hassen mean in English?

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

Is hassen regular or irregular?

hassen is regular in every tense. The present participle is hassend and the past participle is gehasst.

How do I practise hassen every day?

Say one sentence with hassen 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 hasse Kälte im Winter.”, “Ich habe Kälte im Winter gehasst.” and “Ich werde Kälte im Winter hassen.”. 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 hassen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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