Heißen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Heißen means “to be called”, 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 heißen, 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 heißen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.”
  2. “Du heißt Maria.” — “You are called Maria.”
  3. “Ich habe Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “I have been called Thomas from Munich.”
  4. “Er hieß Peter.” — “He was called Peter.”
  5. “Wir werden Maria heißen.” — “We will be called Maria.”
  6. “Du hast Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “You have been called Thomas from Munich.”
  7. “Ich hieße Peter.” — “I would be called Peter.”
  8. “Er heiße Maria.” — “He is called Maria.”
  9. “Wir hatten Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “We had been called Thomas from Munich.”
  10. “Er wird Peter heißen.” — “He will be called Peter.”
  11. “Sie heißen Maria.” — “They are called Maria.”
  12. “Heiß Thomas aus München!” — “Be called Thomas from Munich!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Heißt du Peter?” — “You are called Peter?” Jonas: “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Maria heißen.” — “I will be called Maria.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “I have been called Thomas from Munich.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich hieße Peter.” — “I would be called Peter.”

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.

Heißen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, heißen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is heiße: “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, heißen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is hieß: “Er hieß Maria.” — “He was called Maria.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, heißen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle geheißen. The ich form is habe geheißen: “Ich habe Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “I have been called Thomas from Munich.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, heißen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden heißen: “Wir werden Peter heißen.” — “We will be called Peter.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, heißen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is hießest: “Du hießest Maria.” — “You would be called Maria.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, heißen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is heiße: “Er heiße Thomas aus München.” — “He is called Thomas from Munich.” 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 heißen Peter.”

✓ Right: “Ich heiße Peter.”

The infinitive heißen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form heiße.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du heiße Peter.”

✓ Right: “Du heißt Peter.”

heiße is the ich form. With du you need heißt. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich heiße Peter gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Peter geheißen.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich heiße Peter.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich heiße Peter.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geheißen Peter.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe Peter geheißen.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) heißen
    • B) hieß
    • C) heiße
    • D) heißt

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

    • A) heiße
    • B) heißen
    • C) hießt
    • D) heißt

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

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

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

    • A) hießen
    • B) hieß
    • C) hießt
    • D) heißen

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

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

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

    • A) hießen
    • B) hießet
    • C) hieße
    • D) hießest

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

    • A) heißen
    • B) heißet
    • C) heiße
    • D) heißest

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of heißen?

    • A) geheißen
    • B) gedacht
    • C) gesprochen
    • D) gelebt

  10. What does heißen mean in English?

  • A) to live
  • B) to be called
  • C) to think
  • D) to speak

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does heißen mean in English?

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

Is heißen regular or irregular?

heißen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is heißend and the past participle is geheißen.

How do I practise heißen every day?

Say one sentence with heißen 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 heiße Peter.”, “Ich habe Peter geheißen.” and “Ich werde Peter heißen.”. 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 heißen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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