Heißen Conjugation in German
heißen means “to be called” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 414 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.” — 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 heißen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: heißen
- English: to be called
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): heißend
- Past participle (Partizip II): geheißen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: strong in the verified tables
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. 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 heißen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about heißen
- 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.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle geheißen. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are heißend and geheißen: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle 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 heißen. 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 | heiße |
| du | heißt |
| er/sie/es | heißt |
| wir | heißen |
| ihr | heißt |
| sie/Sie | heißen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With heißen 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 heiße Maria.” — “I am called Maria.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hieß |
| du | hießt |
| er/sie/es | hieß |
| wir | hießen |
| ihr | hießt |
| sie/Sie | hießen |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With heißen 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 hießt Maria.” — “You were called Maria.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe geheißen |
| du | hast geheißen |
| er/sie/es | hat geheißen |
| wir | haben geheißen |
| ihr | habt geheißen |
| sie/Sie | haben geheißen |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat Maria geheißen.” — “He has been called Maria.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte geheißen |
| du | hattest geheißen |
| er/sie/es | hatte geheißen |
| wir | hatten geheißen |
| ihr | hattet geheißen |
| sie/Sie | hatten geheißen |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte Maria geheißen.” — “I had been called Maria.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde heißen |
| du | wirst heißen |
| er/sie/es | wird heißen |
| wir | werden heißen |
| ihr | werdet heißen |
| sie/Sie | werden heißen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde Maria heißen.” — “I will be called Maria.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde geheißen haben |
| du | wirst geheißen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird geheißen haben |
| wir | werden geheißen haben |
| ihr | werdet geheißen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden geheißen haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst Maria geheißen haben.” — “You will have been called Maria.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | heiße |
| du | heißest |
| er/sie/es | heiße |
| wir | heißen |
| ihr | heißet |
| sie/Sie | heißen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er heiße Maria.” — “He is called Maria.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hieße |
| du | hießest |
| er/sie/es | hieße |
| wir | hießen |
| ihr | hießet |
| sie/Sie | hießen |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich hieße Maria.” — “I would be called Maria.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte geheißen |
| du | hättest geheißen |
| er/sie/es | hätte geheißen |
| wir | hätten geheißen |
| ihr | hättet geheißen |
| sie/Sie | hätten geheißen |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte Maria geheißen.” — “He would have been called Maria.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | heiß |
| wir | heißen |
| ihr | heißt |
| sie/Sie | heißen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. With heißen 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: “Heiß Maria!” — “Be called Maria!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | heißend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle heißend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | geheißen |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe Peter geheißen.” — “I have been called Peter.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | heißen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with heißen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.”
- “Du hießt Maria.” — “You were called Maria.”
- “Er hat Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “He has been called Thomas from Munich.”
- “Ich werde Peter heißen.” — “I will be called Peter.”
- “Du hießest Maria.” — “You would be called Maria.”
- “Ich hatte Thomas aus München geheißen.” — “I had been called Thomas from Munich.”
- “Du wirst Maria geheißen haben.” — “You will have been called Maria.”
- “Er heiße Thomas aus München.” — “He is called Thomas from Munich.”
- “Ich hätte Peter geheißen.” — “I would have been called Peter.”
- “Heiß Peter!” — “Be called Peter!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form heiße.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich heißen Peter.”
✓ Right: “Ich heiße Peter.”
heißen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with heiße.
3. 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.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin Peter geheißen.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Peter geheißen.”
The Perfekt of heißen is formed with haben plus the past participle geheißen: the ich form is habe geheißen. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich hieß Peter gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe Peter geheißen.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe geheißen is the usual past tense. The preterite hieß is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Heiß Peter!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Heißt Peter!”
The du imperative heiß is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form heißt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on heißen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of heißen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) heißen
- B) hieß
- C) heiße
- D) heißt
What is the er/sie/es form of heißen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) hießt
- B) hießen
- C) heißt
- D) hieß
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
What is the du form of heißen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde heißen
- B) wird heißen
- C) werden heißen
- D) wirst heißen
What is the ich form of heißen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) hießen
- B) hießet
- C) hieße
- D) hießest
What is the wir form of heißen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten geheißen
- B) hatte geheißen
- C) hattest geheißen
- D) hattet geheißen
What is the er/sie/es form of heißen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) heißen
- B) heißet
- C) heiße
- D) heißest
What is the du form of heißen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) heißen
- B) heißt
- C) hießt
- D) heiß
What is the past participle of heißen?
- A) geheißen
- B) gedacht
- C) gesprochen
- D) gelebt
What does heißen mean in English?
- A) to live
- B) to be called
- C) to think
- D) to speak
Answer key
- C) heiße — the ich form of heißen in the Present (Präsens) is heiße. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hieß — the er/sie/es form of heißen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is hieß. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- 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.
- C) hieße — the ich form of heißen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is hieße. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten geheißen — the wir form of heißen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten geheißen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- D) heiß — the du form of heißen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is heiß. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) geheißen — the past participle of heißen is geheißen; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is heißend and the past participle is geheißen.
What are the participles of heißen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is heißend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is geheißen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geheißen.
Which auxiliary does heißen take in the Perfekt?
heißen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe geheißen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle geheißen.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form hieße is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte geheißen covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I am called Peter” in German?
Say “Ich heiße Peter.” — “I am called Peter.” The ich form of the present is heiße, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of heißen — every tense of heißen in one place.
- Heißen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Heißen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Denken conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Sprechen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Leben conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise heißen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise heißen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise heißen with the interactive tool.