Hoffen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Hoffen means “to hope”, 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 hoffen, 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 hoffen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I hope for good weather every day.”
  2. “Du hoffst auf eine Antwort jeden Tag.” — “You hope for an answer every day.”
  3. “Ich habe auf den Sommer gehofft gestern.” — “I have hoped for the summer yesterday.”
  4. “Er hoffte auf gutes Wetter gestern.” — “He hoped for good weather yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden auf eine Antwort hoffen morgen.” — “We will hope for an answer tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast auf den Sommer gehofft gestern.” — “You have hoped for the summer yesterday.”
  7. “Ich hoffte auf gutes Wetter eines Tages.” — “I would hope for good weather one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er hoffe auf eine Antwort.” — “It is important that he hope for an answer.”
  9. “Wir hatten auf den Sommer gehofft vor der Party.” — “We had hoped for the summer before the party.”
  10. “Er wird auf gutes Wetter hoffen morgen.” — “He will hope for good weather tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie hoffen auf eine Antwort jeden Tag.” — “They hope for an answer every day.”
  12. “Hoff auf den Sommer!” — “Hope for the summer!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du hoffst auf gutes Wetter jeden Tag.” — “You hope for good weather every day.” Jonas: “Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I hope for good weather every day.” Lena: “Du wirst auf eine Antwort hoffen morgen.” — “You will hope for an answer tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde auf eine Antwort hoffen morgen.” — “I will hope for an answer tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast auf den Sommer gehofft gestern.” — “You have hoped for the summer yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe auf den Sommer gehofft gestern.” — “I have hoped for the summer yesterday.” Lena: “Du hofftest auf gutes Wetter eines Tages.” — “You would hope for good weather one day.” Jonas: “Ich hoffte auf gutes Wetter eines Tages.” — “I would hope for good weather 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.

Hoffen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, hoffen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is hoffe: “Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I hope for good weather every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, hoffen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is hoffte: “Er hoffte auf eine Antwort gestern.” — “He hoped for an answer yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, hoffen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gehofft. The ich form is habe gehofft: “Ich habe auf den Sommer gehofft gestern.” — “I have hoped for the summer yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, hoffen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden hoffen: “Wir werden auf gutes Wetter hoffen morgen.” — “We will hope for good weather tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, hoffen 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 hofftest: “Du hofftest auf eine Antwort eines Tages.” — “You would hope for an answer one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, hoffen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is hoffe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich hoffe auf den Sommer.” — “It is important that I hope for the summer.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich hoffen auf gutes Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter.”

The infinitive hoffen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form hoffe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du hoffe auf gutes Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Du hoffst auf gutes Wetter.”

hoffe is the ich form. With du you need hoffst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich hoffe auf gutes Wetter gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe auf gutes Wetter gehofft gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du hoffst auf eine Antwort.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du hoffest auf eine Antwort.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: hoffest, not the indicative hoffst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gehofft auf gutes Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe auf gutes Wetter gehofft.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) hoffe
    • B) hoffst
    • C) hofft
    • D) hoffen

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

    • A) hofft
    • B) hoffen
    • C) hoffst
    • D) hoffe

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

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

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

    • A) hofftest
    • B) hofftet
    • C) hofften
    • D) hoffte

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

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

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

    • A) hoffte
    • B) hofftest
    • C) hofften
    • D) hofftet

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

    • A) hoffe
    • B) hoffest
    • C) hoffen
    • D) hoffet

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

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

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

    • A) gesorgt
    • B) gehofft
    • C) gewünscht
    • D) gefürchtet

  10. What does hoffen mean in English?

  • A) to worry
  • B) to hope
  • C) to wish
  • D) to fear

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does hoffen mean in English?

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

Is hoffen regular or irregular?

hoffen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is hoffend and Partizip II is gehofft.

How do I practise hoffen every day?

Say one sentence with hoffen 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 hoffe auf gutes Wetter jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe auf gutes Wetter gehofft gestern.” and “Ich werde auf gutes Wetter hoffen 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 hoffen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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