Kaufen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Kaufen means “to buy”, 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 kaufen, 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 kaufen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.” — “I buy a book in the shop.”
  2. “Du kaufst Brot und Milch am Morgen.” — “You buy bread and milk in the morning.”
  3. “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel im Winter gekauft.” — “I have bought a new coat in winter.”
  4. “Er kaufte ein Buch im Laden.” — “He bought a book in the shop.”
  5. “Wir werden Brot und Milch am Morgen kaufen.” — “We will buy bread and milk in the morning.”
  6. “Du hast einen neuen Mantel im Winter gekauft.” — “You have bought a new coat in winter.”
  7. “Ich kaufte ein Buch im Laden.” — “I would buy a book in the shop.”
  8. “Er kaufe Brot und Milch am Morgen.” — “He buys bread and milk in the morning.”
  9. “Wir hatten einen neuen Mantel im Winter gekauft.” — “We had bought a new coat in winter.”
  10. “Er wird ein Buch im Laden kaufen.” — “He will buy a book in the shop.”
  11. “Sie kaufen Brot und Milch am Morgen.” — “They buy bread and milk in the morning.”
  12. “Kauf einen neuen Mantel im Winter!” — “Buy a new coat in winter!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Kaufst du ein Buch im Laden?” — “You buy a book in the shop?” Jonas: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.” — “I buy a book in the shop.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Brot und Milch am Morgen kaufen.” — “I will buy bread and milk in the morning.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel im Winter gekauft.” — “I have bought a new coat in winter.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich kaufte ein Buch im Laden.” — “I would buy a book in the shop.”

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.

Kaufen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, kaufen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is kaufe: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.” — “I buy a book in the shop.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, kaufen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is kaufte: “Er kaufte Brot und Milch am Morgen.” — “He bought bread and milk in the morning.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, kaufen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gekauft. The ich form is habe gekauft: “Ich habe einen neuen Mantel im Winter gekauft.” — “I have bought a new coat in winter.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, kaufen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden kaufen: “Wir werden ein Buch im Laden kaufen.” — “We will buy a book in the shop.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, kaufen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is kauftest: “Du kauftest Brot und Milch am Morgen.” — “You would buy bread and milk in the morning.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, kaufen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is kaufe: “Er kaufe einen neuen Mantel im Winter.” — “He buys a new coat in winter.” 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 kaufen ein Buch im Laden.”

✓ Right: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.”

The infinitive kaufen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form kaufe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du kaufe ein Buch im Laden.”

✓ Right: “Du kaufst ein Buch im Laden.”

kaufe is the ich form. With du you need kaufst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch im Laden gekauft.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich kaufe ein Buch im Laden.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gekauft ein Buch im Laden.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch im Laden gekauft.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) kaufe
    • B) kaufst
    • C) kauft
    • D) kaufen

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

    • A) kauft
    • B) kaufen
    • C) kaufst
    • D) kaufe

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

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

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

    • A) kauftest
    • B) kauftet
    • C) kauften
    • D) kaufte

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

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

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

    • A) kaufte
    • B) kauftest
    • C) kauften
    • D) kauftet

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

    • A) kaufe
    • B) kaufest
    • C) kaufen
    • D) kaufet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of kaufen?

    • A) gewesen
    • B) gekauft
    • C) verkauft
    • D) bezahlt

  10. What does kaufen mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to buy
  • C) to sell
  • D) to pay

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does kaufen mean in English?

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

Is kaufen regular or irregular?

kaufen is regular in every tense. The present participle is kaufend and the past participle is gekauft.

How do I practise kaufen every day?

Say one sentence with kaufen 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 kaufe ein Buch im Laden.”, “Ich habe ein Buch im Laden gekauft.” and “Ich werde ein Buch im Laden kaufen.”. 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 kaufen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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