Lachen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Lachen means “to laugh”, and this page covers exactly one thing: lachen 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 lachen, 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 lachen in the present. For example: “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of lachen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Lachen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich lache
du lachst
er/sie/es lacht
wir lachen
ihr lacht
sie/Sie lachen

Partizip I: lachend · Partizip II: gelacht

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

How the Präsens of lachen is formed

The present of lachen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich lache, du lachst, er/sie/es lacht, wir lachen, ihr lacht, sie/Sie lachen. 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 family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I lachend and Partizip II gelacht belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise lachen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of lachen

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

1. Laughing at the joke — the everyday use

Lachen is the verb for laughing at the joke. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.”

2. Laughing with my friends — a second everyday use

Lachen also covers laughing with my friends. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du lachst mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “You laugh with my friends every day.”

3. Laughing loudly in the park — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use lachen for laughing loudly in the park. 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 lacht laut im Park jeden Tag.” — “He laughs loudly in the park every day.”

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 lachen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir lachen über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “We laugh at the joke every day.”

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 lachen 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 lacht mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “You laugh with my friends every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, 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 Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich lachte über den Witz gestern.” — “I laughed at the joke yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du lachst mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “You laugh with my friends every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du lachtest mit meinen Freunden gestern.” — “You laughed with my friends yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir lachen laut im Park jeden Tag.” — “We laugh loudly in the park every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir lachten laut im Park gestern.” — “We laughed loudly in the park yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: lachen in the Präsens

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 lache mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I laugh with my friends every day.”

  2. “Du lachst laut im Park jeden Tag.” — “You laugh loudly in the park every day.”

  3. “Er lacht über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “He laughs at the joke every day.”

  4. “Wir lachen mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “We laugh with my friends every day.”

  5. “Ihr lacht laut im Park jeden Tag.” — “You laugh loudly in the park every day.”

  6. “Sie lachen über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “They laugh at the joke every day.”

  7. “Ich lache mit meinen Freunden jeden Tag.” — “I laugh with my friends every day.”

  8. “Du lachst laut im Park jeden Tag.” — “You laugh loudly in the park every day.”

Common mistakes with lachen in the Präsens

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 lachen über den Witz.” Right: “Ich lache über den Witz.” Why: The ich form is lache, not lachen. Lachen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir lachen über den Witz.” Right: “Wir lachen über den Witz.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: lachen, not lachen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich lachen über den Witz.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich lache über den Witz.” Why: The infinitive lachen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form lache.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich lache über den Witz.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich lache über den Witz.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use lache here, not the indicative lache.

Quiz: lachen in the Präsens

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. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ mit meinen Freunden.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ laut im Park.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ über den Witz.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ mit meinen Freunden.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ laut im Park.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ über den Witz.”

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

7. What does lachen mean in English?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. D) lache — The ich form is lache.
  2. B) lachst — The du form is lachst.
  3. A) lacht — The er/sie/es form is lacht.
  4. B) lachen — The wir form is lachen.
  5. A) lacht — The ihr form is lacht.
  6. B) lachen — The sie/Sie form is lachen.
  7. A) to laugh — lachen means “to laugh”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) gelacht — The past participle of lachen is gelacht; the Präsens is formed with haben + gelacht.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of lachen formed?

The present of lachen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich lache, du lachst, er lacht, wir lachen, ihr lacht, sie lachen.

When do I use the present of lachen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” — “I laugh at the joke every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

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

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich lache über den Witz jeden Tag.” with “Ich lachte über den Witz gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

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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