Lachen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Lachen means “to laugh”, 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 lachen, 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 lachen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.”
  2. “Du lachst mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “You laugh with my friends every day.”
  3. “Ich habe laut im Park gelacht gestern.” — “I have laughed loudly in the park yesterday.”
  4. “Er lachte über den Witz gestern.” — “He laughed at the joke yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden mit meinen Freunden lachen morgen.” — “We will laugh with my friends tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast laut im Park gelacht gestern.” — “You have laughed loudly in the park yesterday.”
  7. “Ich lachte über den Witz eines Tages.” — “I would laugh at the joke one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er lache mit meinen Freunden.” — “It is important that he laugh with my friends.”
  9. “Wir hatten laut im Park gelacht vor der Party.” — “We had laughed loudly in the park before the party.”
  10. “Er wird über den Witz lachen morgen.” — “He will laugh at the joke tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie lachen mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “They laugh with my friends every day.”
  12. “Lach laut im Park!” — “Laugh loudly in the park!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du lachst über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “You laugh at the joke every day.” Jonas: “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.” Lena: “Du wirst mit meinen Freunden lachen morgen.” — “You will laugh with my friends tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde mit meinen Freunden lachen morgen.” — “I will laugh with my friends tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast laut im Park gelacht gestern.” — “You have laughed loudly in the park yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe laut im Park gelacht gestern.” — “I have laughed loudly in the park yesterday.” Lena: “Du lachtest über den Witz eines Tages.” — “You would laugh at the joke one day.” Jonas: “Ich lachte über den Witz eines Tages.” — “I would laugh at the joke 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.

Lachen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, lachen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is lache: “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, lachen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is lachte: “Er lachte mit meinen Freunden gestern.” — “He laughed with my friends yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, lachen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle gelacht. The ich form is habe gelacht: “Ich habe laut im Park gelacht gestern.” — “I have laughed loudly in the park yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, lachen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden lachen: “Wir werden über den Witz lachen morgen.” — “We will laugh at the joke tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, lachen 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 lachtest: “Du lachtest mit meinen Freunden eines Tages.” — “You would laugh with my friends one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, lachen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is lache, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich lache laut im Park.” — “It is important that I laugh loudly in the park.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich lachen über den Witz.”

✓ Right: “Ich lache über den Witz.”

The infinitive lachen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form lache.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du lache über den Witz.”

✓ Right: “Du lachst über den Witz.”

lache is the ich form. With du you need lachst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich lache über den Witz gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe über den Witz gelacht gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du lachst mit meinen Freunden.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du lachest mit meinen Freunden.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: lachest, not the indicative lachst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gelacht über den Witz.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe über den Witz gelacht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) lachst
    • B) lacht
    • C) lachen
    • D) lache

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

    • A) lachen
    • B) lachst
    • C) lache
    • D) lacht

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

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

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

    • A) lachtet
    • B) lachten
    • C) lachte
    • D) lachtest

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

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

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

    • A) lachtest
    • B) lachten
    • C) lachtet
    • D) lachte

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

    • A) lachest
    • B) lachen
    • C) lachet
    • D) lache

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

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

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

    • A) gelacht
    • B) geweint
    • C) gelächelt
    • D) geschrien

  10. What does lachen mean in English?

  • A) to laugh
  • B) to cry
  • C) to smile
  • D) to shout

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does lachen mean in English?

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

Is lachen regular or irregular?

lachen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is lachend and Partizip II is gelacht.

How do I practise lachen every day?

Say one sentence with lachen 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 lache über den Witz jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe über den Witz gelacht gestern.” and “Ich werde über den Witz lachen 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 lachen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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