Hören in the Present (Präsens) Tense in German

Introduction

Hören means “to hear”, and this page covers exactly one thing: hören in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for hören, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about hören in the present. For example: “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “I hear music in the living room.” Everything on this page uses the forms of hören exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Hören in the Present (Präsens) Tense — full table

Person	Form
ich	höre
du	hörst
er/sie/es	hört
wir	hören
ihr	hört
sie/Sie	hören

Present participle: hörend · Past participle: gehört

The present participle is hörend, which you use as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle is gehört, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gehört, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how hören is used.

How the present of hören is formed

The present of hören follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich höre, du hörst, er/sie/es hört, wir hören, ihr hört, sie/Sie hören. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same stem family, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The participles hörend and gehört belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise hören in every tense.

When to use the present of hören

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use hören in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. To hear music in the living room — the everyday use

The most everyday use of hören is music in the living room. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “I hear music in the living room.”

2. To hear a noise in the night — a second everyday use

Hören also covers a noise in the night. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du hörst ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “You hear a noise in the night.”

3. To hear Marie singing in the morning — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use hören for Marie singing in the morning. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er hört Marie am Morgen singen.” — “He hears Marie singing in the morning.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and hören is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “We hear music in the living room.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with hören in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr hört ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “You hear a noise in the night.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a finished action in the past, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as jeden Tag, while the preterite sentences use gestern. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

• Present (Präsens): “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “I hear music in the living room.”

• Preterite: “Ich hörte Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “I heard music in the living room.”

• The present sentence is about the present moment or a routine; the preterite sentence is about one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.

• Present (Präsens): “Du hörst ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “You hear a noise in the night.”

• Preterite: “Du hörtest ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “You heard a noise in the night.”

• The present sentence is about the present moment or a routine; the preterite sentence is about one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.

• Present (Präsens): “Wir hören Marie am Morgen singen.” — “We hear Marie singing in the morning.”

• Preterite: “Wir hörten Marie am Morgen singen.” — “We heard Marie singing in the morning.”

• The present sentence is about the present moment or a routine; the preterite sentence is about one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: hören in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

1. “Ich höre ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “I hear a noise in the night.”

2. “Du hörst Marie am Morgen singen.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning.”

3. “Er hört Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “He hears music in the living room.”

4. “Wir hören ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “We hear a noise in the night.”

5. “Ihr hört Marie am Morgen singen.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning.”

6. “Sie hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “They hear music in the living room.”

7. “Ich höre ein Geräusch in der Nacht.” — “I hear a noise in the night.”

8. “Du hörst Marie am Morgen singen.” — “You hear Marie singing in the morning.”

Common mistakes with hören in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

• Wrong: “Ich hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” Right: “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” Why: The ich form is höre, not hören. Hören belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

• Wrong: “Wir hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” Right: “Wir hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: hören, not hören. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

• Wrong: “Ich hören Musik im Wohnzimmer.” (infinitive with a subject) Right: “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” Why: The infinitive hören never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form höre.

• Wrong: “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer gestern.” (a finished past action) Right: “Ich habe Musik im Wohnzimmer gehört.” Why: The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gehört, not the present höre.

Quiz: hören in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

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

   • A) hörst
   • B) hört
   • C) hören
   • D) höre

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

   • A) hören
   • B) hörst
   • C) höre
   • D) hört

3. What is the er/sie/es form of hören in the Present (Präsens)?

   • A) hört
   • B) höre
   • C) hörst
   • D) hören

4. What is the wir form of hören in the Present (Präsens)?

   • A) hört
   • B) hören
   • C) höre
   • D) hörst

5. What is the ihr form of hören in the Present (Präsens)?

   • A) hört
   • B) höre
   • C) hörst
   • D) hören

6. What is the sie/Sie form of hören in the Present (Präsens)?

   • A) hört
   • B) hören
   • C) höre
   • D) hörst

7. What does hören mean in English?

• A) to eat
• B) to hear
• C) to feel
• D) to live

8. What is the past participle of hören?

• A) gehört
• B) gefühlt
• C) gewohnt
• D) gegessen

Answer key

1. D) höre — The ich form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is höre.
2. B) hörst — The du form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is hörst.
3. A) hört — The er/sie/es form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is hört.
4. B) hören — The wir form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is hören.
5. A) hört — The ihr form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is hört.
6. B) hören — The sie/Sie form of hören in the Present (Präsens) is hören.
7. B) to hear — hören means “to hear”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
8. A) gehört — The past participle of hören is gehört; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses, while the present tense itself is formed from the stem plus the present endings.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of hören formed?

The present of hören is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich höre, du hörst, er hört, wir hören, ihr hört, sie hören.

When do I use the present of hören?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — “I hear music in the living room.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of hören?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes one finished action in the past. Compare “Ich höre Musik im Wohnzimmer.” with “Ich hörte Musik im Wohnzimmer.” — the first is now, the second is the past as a finished event.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for hören, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages

• Full conjugation of hören — every tense of hören in one place.
• Hören in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
• Hören examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
• Fühlen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
• Wohnen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
• Essen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
• 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.
• Present Tense Conjugator — practise hören with the interactive tool.
• Tense Finder — practise hören with the interactive tool.
• Spanish Verb Quiz — practise hören with the interactive tool.