Lächeln: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Lächeln means “to smile”, 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 lächeln, 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 lächeln, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich lächle freundlich jeden Tag.” — “I smile in a friendly way every day.”
  2. “Du lächelst im Foto jeden Tag.” — “You smile in the photo every day.”
  3. “Ich habe glücklich gelächelt gestern.” — “I have smiled happily yesterday.”
  4. “Er lächelte freundlich gestern.” — “He smiled in a friendly way yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden im Foto lächeln morgen.” — “We will smile in the photo tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast glücklich gelächelt gestern.” — “You have smiled happily yesterday.”
  7. “Ich lächelte freundlich eines Tages.” — “I would smile in a friendly way one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er lächele im Foto.” — “It is important that he smile in the photo.”
  9. “Wir hatten glücklich gelächelt vor der Party.” — “We had smiled happily before the party.”
  10. “Er wird freundlich lächeln morgen.” — “He will smile in a friendly way tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie lächeln im Foto jeden Tag.” — “They smile in the photo every day.”
  12. “Lächle glücklich!” — “Smile happily!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du lächelst freundlich jeden Tag.” — “You smile in a friendly way every day.” Jonas: “Ich lächle freundlich jeden Tag.” — “I smile in a friendly way every day.” Lena: “Du wirst im Foto lächeln morgen.” — “You will smile in the photo tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde im Foto lächeln morgen.” — “I will smile in the photo tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast glücklich gelächelt gestern.” — “You have smiled happily yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe glücklich gelächelt gestern.” — “I have smiled happily yesterday.” Lena: “Du lächeltest freundlich eines Tages.” — “You would smile in a friendly way one day.” Jonas: “Ich lächelte freundlich eines Tages.” — “I would smile in a friendly way 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.

Lächeln in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, lächeln describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is lächle: “Ich lächle freundlich jeden Tag.” — “I smile in a friendly way every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, lächeln describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is lächelte: “Er lächelte im Foto gestern.” — “He smiled in the photo yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, lächeln reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gelächelt. The ich form is habe gelächelt: “Ich habe glücklich gelächelt gestern.” — “I have smiled happily yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, lächeln talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden lächeln: “Wir werden freundlich lächeln morgen.” — “We will smile in a friendly way tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, lächeln 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 lächeltest: “Du lächeltest im Foto eines Tages.” — “You would smile in the photo one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, lächeln appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is lächele, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich lächele glücklich.” — “It is important that I smile happily.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich lächeln freundlich.”

✓ Right: “Ich lächle freundlich.”

The infinitive lächeln never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form lächle.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du lächle freundlich.”

✓ Right: “Du lächelst freundlich.”

lächle is the ich form. With du you need lächelst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich lächle freundlich gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe freundlich gelächelt gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du lächelst im Foto.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du lächlest im Foto.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: lächlest, not the indicative lächelst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gelächelt freundlich.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe freundlich gelächelt.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) lächle
    • B) lächelst
    • C) lächelt
    • D) lächeln

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

    • A) lächeln
    • B) lächelst
    • C) lächle
    • D) lächelt

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

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

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

    • A) lächeltet
    • B) lächelten
    • C) lächelte
    • D) lächeltest

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

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

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

    • A) lächeltest
    • B) lächelten
    • C) lächeltet
    • D) lächelte

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

    • A) lächlest
    • B) lächlen
    • C) lächlet
    • D) lächele

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

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

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

    • A) gelächelt
    • B) geschrien
    • C) geflüstert
    • D) geredet

  10. What does lächeln mean in English?

  • A) to shout
  • B) to whisper
  • C) to talk
  • D) to smile

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does lächeln mean in English?

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

Is lächeln regular or irregular?

lächeln is regular in every tense. Partizip I is lächelnd and Partizip II is gelächelt.

How do I practise lächeln every day?

Say one sentence with lächeln 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 lächle freundlich jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe freundlich gelächelt gestern.” and “Ich werde freundlich lächeln 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 lächeln, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages