Heiraten Conjugation in German
heiraten means “to marry” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of heiraten — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Er heiratet im Juni in Berlin.” — “He gets married in June in Berlin.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and heiraten is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: heiraten
- English: to marry
- Verb type: Weak verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Present participle (Partizip I): heiratend
- Past participle (Partizip II): geheiratet
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for heiraten, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for heiraten. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | heirate |
| du | heiratest |
| er/sie/es | heiratet |
| wir | heiraten |
| ihr | heiratet |
| sie/Sie | heiraten |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | heiratete |
| du | heiratetest |
| er/sie/es | heiratete |
| wir | heirateten |
| ihr | heiratetet |
| sie/Sie | heirateten |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe geheiratet |
| du | hast geheiratet |
| er/sie/es | hat geheiratet |
| wir | haben geheiratet |
| ihr | habt geheiratet |
| sie/Sie | haben geheiratet |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte geheiratet |
| du | hattest geheiratet |
| er/sie/es | hatte geheiratet |
| wir | hatten geheiratet |
| ihr | hattet geheiratet |
| sie/Sie | hatten geheiratet |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde heiraten |
| du | wirst heiraten |
| er/sie/es | wird heiraten |
| wir | werden heiraten |
| ihr | werdet heiraten |
| sie/Sie | werden heiraten |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde geheiratet haben |
| du | wirst geheiratet haben |
| er/sie/es | wird geheiratet haben |
| wir | werden geheiratet haben |
| ihr | werdet geheiratet haben |
| sie/Sie | werden geheiratet haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | heirate |
| du | heiratest |
| er/sie/es | heirate |
| wir | heiraten |
| ihr | heiratet |
| sie/Sie | heiraten |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | heiratete |
| du | heiratetest |
| er/sie/es | heiratete |
| wir | heirateten |
| ihr | heiratetet |
| sie/Sie | heirateten |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte geheiratet |
| du | hättest geheiratet |
| er/sie/es | hätte geheiratet |
| wir | hätten geheiratet |
| ihr | hättet geheiratet |
| sie/Sie | hätten geheiratet |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | heirate |
| wir | heiraten |
| ihr | heiratet |
| sie/Sie | heiraten |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | heiratend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | geheiratet |
| Infinitive | heiraten |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich heirate im Juni in Berlin.” — “I get married in June in Berlin.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. For example: “Du heiratetest im Juni in Berlin.” — “You got married in June in Berlin.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With heiraten it is formed with haben + the past participle geheiratet. For example: “Er hat im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.” — “He has got married in June in Berlin.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.” — “We had got married in June in Berlin.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet im Juni in Berlin heiraten.” — “You will get married in June in Berlin.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden im Juni in Berlin geheiratet haben.” — “They will have got married in June in Berlin.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich im Juni in Berlin heirate.” — “It is important that I get married in June in Berlin.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du heiratetest im Juni in Berlin.” — “You would get married in June in Berlin if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.” — “He would have got married in June in Berlin if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Heirate im Juni in Berlin!” — “Get married in June in Berlin!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is heiratend — “while getting married” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is geheiratet, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geheiratet. The infinitive is heiraten.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with heiraten, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich heirate im Juni in Berlin.” — “I get married in June in Berlin.”
- “Du heiratest im Juni in Berlin.” — “You get married in June in Berlin.”
- “Er heiratete im Juni in Berlin.” — “He got married in June in Berlin.”
- “Ich habe im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.” — “I have got married in June in Berlin.”
- “Er hatte im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.” — “He had got married in June in Berlin.”
- “Wir werden im Juni in Berlin heiraten.” — “We will get married in June in Berlin.”
- “Ich werde im Juni in Berlin geheiratet haben.” — “I will have got married in June in Berlin.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich im Juni in Berlin heirate.” — “It is important that I get married in June in Berlin.”
- “Ich heiratete im Juni in Berlin.” — “I would get married in June in Berlin if I could.”
- “Heirate im Juni in Berlin!” — “Get married in June in Berlin!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich heiraten im Juni in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich heirate im Juni in Berlin.”
The infinitive heiraten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form heirate.
2. Confusing heiraten with sich verlieben
✗ Wrong: “Ich sich verlieben im Juni in Berlin.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich heirate im Juni in Berlin.”
heiraten means “to marry”; sich verlieben means “to fall in love”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.”
With heiraten the Perfekt is formed with haben, not sein: habe geheiratet.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass er im Juni in Berlin heiratet.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass er im Juni in Berlin heirate.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use heirate here, not the indicative heiratet.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich heirate im Juni in Berlin.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe im Juni in Berlin geheiratet.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe geheiratet), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of heiraten in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) heirate
- B) heiratest
- C) heiraten
- D) heiratet
What is the er/sie/es form of heiraten in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) heiraten
- B) heiratest
- C) heirate
- D) heiratet
What is the ich form of heiraten in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) heiratete
- B) heirateten
- C) heiratetet
- D) heiratetest
What is the ich form of heiraten in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat geheiratet
- B) haben geheiratet
- C) habe geheiratet
- D) hast geheiratet
What is the wir form of heiraten in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest geheiratet
- B) hattet geheiratet
- C) hatten geheiratet
- D) hatte geheiratet
What is the du form of heiraten in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst heiraten
- B) werdet heiraten
- C) wird heiraten
- D) werde heiraten
What is the ich form of heiraten in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werde geheiratet haben
- B) wirst geheiratet haben
- C) werdet geheiratet haben
- D) wird geheiratet haben
What is the ich form of heiraten in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) heiratete
- B) heiratetest
- C) heiratetet
- D) heirateten
What is the past participle of heiraten?
- A) heiratete
- B) heirate
- C) geheiratet
- D) heiratend
What does heiraten mean in English?
- A) to fall in love
- B) to marry
- C) to come
- D) to do
Answer key
- A) heirate — the ich form of heiraten in the present tense is heirate.
- D) heiratet — the er/sie/es form of heiraten in the present tense is heiratet.
- A) heiratete — the ich form of heiraten in the preterite is heiratete.
- C) habe geheiratet — the ich form of heiraten in the Perfekt is habe geheiratet.
- C) hatten geheiratet — the wir form of heiraten in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten geheiratet.
- A) wirst heiraten — the du form of heiraten in the Futur I is wirst heiraten.
- A) werde geheiratet haben — the ich form of heiraten in the Futur II is werde geheiratet haben.
- A) heiratete — the ich form of heiraten in the Konjunktiv II is heiratete.
- C) geheiratet — the past participle of heiraten is geheiratet; perfect tenses use haben + geheiratet.
- B) to marry — heiraten means “to marry” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does heiraten mean in English?
heiraten means “to marry”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Er heiratet im Juni in Berlin.” (“He gets married in June in Berlin.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is heiraten regular or irregular?
heiraten is regular: its endings follow the standard weak pattern in every tense. The present participle is heiratend and the past participle is geheiratet.
What are the participles of heiraten?
The present participle is heiratend and the past participle is geheiratet — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geheiratet.
What is the difference between heiraten and sich verlieben?
heiraten means “to marry”, while sich verlieben means “to fall in love”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for sich verlieben and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I get married” in German?
Say “Er heiratet im Juni in Berlin.” — “He gets married in June in Berlin.” The ich form of the present is heirate, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn heiraten
Start with the present tense: heirate, heiratest, heiratet, heiraten, heiratet, heiraten. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe geheiratet — and the Präteritum — heiratete. Next, learn the future (werde heiraten) and the Konjunktiv II (heiratete), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (heirate) and the imperative (heirate). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- heiraten in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- heiraten examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise heiraten with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise heiraten with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.