Leben: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Leben means “to live”, 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 leben, 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 leben, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “I live in Berlin for ten years.”
- “Du lebst mit meiner Familie.” — “You live with my family.”
- “Ich habe in der Nähe vom Meer gelebt.” — “I have lived near the sea.”
- “Er lebte in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “He lived in Berlin for ten years.”
- “Wir werden mit meiner Familie leben.” — “We will live with my family.”
- “Du hast in der Nähe vom Meer gelebt.” — “You have lived near the sea.”
- “Ich lebte in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “I would live in Berlin for ten years.”
- “Er lebe mit meiner Familie.” — “He lives with my family.”
- “Wir hatten in der Nähe vom Meer gelebt.” — “We had lived near the sea.”
- “Er wird in Berlin seit zehn Jahren leben.” — “He will live in Berlin for ten years.”
- “Sie leben mit meiner Familie.” — “They live with my family.”
- “Leb in der Nähe vom Meer!” — “Live near the sea!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about in Berlin for ten years. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how leben changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of leben below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Lebst du in Berlin seit zehn Jahren?” — “You live in Berlin for ten years?” Jonas: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “I live in Berlin for ten years.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde mit meiner Familie leben.” — “I will live with my family.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe in der Nähe vom Meer gelebt.” — “I have lived near the sea.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich lebte in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “I would live in Berlin for ten years.”
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.
Leben in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of leben that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, leben describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is lebe: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” — “I live in Berlin for ten years.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, leben describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is lebte: “Er lebte mit meiner Familie.” — “He lived with my family.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, leben reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gelebt. The ich form is habe gelebt: “Ich habe in der Nähe vom Meer gelebt.” — “I have lived near the sea.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, leben talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden leben: “Wir werden in Berlin seit zehn Jahren leben.” — “We will live in Berlin for ten years.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, leben talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is lebtest: “Du lebtest mit meiner Familie.” — “You would live with my family.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, leben appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is lebe: “Er lebe in der Nähe vom Meer.” — “He lives near the sea.” 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 leben in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”
✓ Right: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”
The infinitive leben never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form lebe.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”
✓ Right: “Du lebst in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”
lebe is the ich form. With du you need lebst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren gelebt.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gelebt, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: lebe, not the indicative lebe.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gelebt in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren gelebt.”
The Perfekt of leben needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gelebt: the full ich form is habe gelebt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on leben. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of leben in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lebe
- B) lebst
- C) lebt
- D) leben
What is the du form of leben in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lebt
- B) leben
- C) lebst
- D) lebe
What is the er/sie/es form of leben in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gelebt
- B) habe gelebt
- C) hast gelebt
- D) haben gelebt
What is the wir form of leben in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) lebtest
- B) lebtet
- C) lebten
- D) lebte
What is the du form of leben in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden leben
- B) wirst leben
- C) werde leben
- D) wird leben
What is the ich form of leben in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) lebte
- B) lebtest
- C) lebten
- D) lebtet
What is the er/sie/es form of leben in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) lebe
- B) lebest
- C) leben
- D) lebet
What is the ich form of leben in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gelebt
- B) hatten gelebt
- C) hattet gelebt
- D) hatte gelebt
What is the past participle of leben?
- A) gebracht
- B) gelebt
- C) gefahren
- D) gelassen
What does leben mean in English?
- A) to bring
- B) to live
- C) to drive
- D) to let, to leave
Answer key
- A) lebe — the ich form of leben in the Present (Präsens) is lebe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) lebst — the du form of leben in the Present (Präsens) is lebst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hat gelebt — the er/sie/es form of leben in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gelebt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) lebten — the wir form of leben in the Preterite (Präteritum) is lebten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst leben — the du form of leben in the Future (Futur I) is wirst leben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) lebte — the ich form of leben in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is lebte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) lebe — the er/sie/es form of leben in the Konjunktiv I is lebe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatte gelebt — the ich form of leben in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gelebt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gelebt — the past participle of leben is gelebt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to live — leben means “to live” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does leben mean in English?
leben means “to live”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is leben regular or irregular?
leben is regular in every tense. The present participle is lebend and the past participle is gelebt.
How do I practise leben every day?
Say one sentence with leben 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 lebe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren.”, “Ich habe in Berlin seit zehn Jahren gelebt.” and “Ich werde in Berlin seit zehn Jahren leben.”. 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 leben, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of leben — every tense of leben in one place.
- Leben in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Leben examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Fahren conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Lassen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Bringen 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.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise leben with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise leben with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise leben with the interactive tool.