Lesen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Lesen means “to read”, 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 lesen, 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 lesen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.” — “I read a book in the evening.”
- “Du liest die Zeitung jeden Morgen.” — “You read the newspaper every morning.”
- “Ich habe einen Brief von Marie gelesen.” — “I have read a letter from Marie.”
- “Er las ein Buch am Abend.” — “He read a book in the evening.”
- “Wir werden die Zeitung jeden Morgen lesen.” — “We will read the newspaper every morning.”
- “Du hast einen Brief von Marie gelesen.” — “You have read a letter from Marie.”
- “Ich läse ein Buch am Abend.” — “I would read a book in the evening.”
- “Er lese die Zeitung jeden Morgen.” — “He reads the newspaper every morning.”
- “Wir hatten einen Brief von Marie gelesen.” — “We had read a letter from Marie.”
- “Er wird ein Buch am Abend lesen.” — “He will read a book in the evening.”
- “Sie lesen die Zeitung jeden Morgen.” — “They read the newspaper every morning.”
- “Lies einen Brief von Marie!” — “Read a letter from Marie!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about a book in the evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how lesen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of lesen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Liest du ein Buch am Abend?” — “You read a book in the evening?” Jonas: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.” — “I read a book in the evening.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde die Zeitung jeden Morgen lesen.” — “I will read the newspaper every morning.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe einen Brief von Marie gelesen.” — “I have read a letter from Marie.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich läse ein Buch am Abend.” — “I would read a book in the evening.”
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.
Lesen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of lesen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, lesen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is lese: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.” — “I read a book in the evening.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, lesen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is las: “Er las die Zeitung jeden Morgen.” — “He read the newspaper every morning.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, lesen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gelesen. The ich form is habe gelesen: “Ich habe einen Brief von Marie gelesen.” — “I have read a letter from Marie.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, lesen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden lesen: “Wir werden ein Buch am Abend lesen.” — “We will read a book in the evening.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, lesen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is läsest: “Du läsest die Zeitung jeden Morgen.” — “You would read the newspaper every morning.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, lesen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is lese: “Er lese einen Brief von Marie.” — “He reads a letter from Marie.” 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 lesen ein Buch am Abend.”
✓ Right: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.”
The infinitive lesen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form lese.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du lese ein Buch am Abend.”
✓ Right: “Du liest ein Buch am Abend.”
lese is the ich form. With du you need liest. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch am Abend gelesen.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gelesen, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich lese ein Buch am Abend.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: lese, not the indicative lese.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gelesen ein Buch am Abend.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Buch am Abend gelesen.”
The Perfekt of lesen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gelesen: the full ich form is habe gelesen.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on lesen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of lesen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) liest
- B) lesen
- C) lest
- D) lese
What is the du form of lesen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lese
- B) lesen
- C) lest
- D) liest
What is the er/sie/es form of lesen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gelesen
- B) habe gelesen
- C) hast gelesen
- D) haben gelesen
What is the wir form of lesen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) last
- B) lasen
- C) las
- D) lasest
What is the du form of lesen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst lesen
- B) werde lesen
- C) wird lesen
- D) werden lesen
What is the ich form of lesen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) läse
- B) läsest
- C) läsen
- D) läset
What is the er/sie/es form of lesen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) lesest
- B) lesen
- C) leset
- D) lese
What is the ich form of lesen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gelesen
- B) hatten gelesen
- C) hattet gelesen
- D) hatte gelesen
What is the past participle of lesen?
- A) gekannt
- B) gelesen
- C) geschrieben
- D) verstanden
What does lesen mean in English?
- A) to know
- B) to read
- C) to write
- D) to understand
Answer key
- D) lese — the ich form of lesen in the Present (Präsens) is lese. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) liest — the du form of lesen in the Present (Präsens) is liest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hat gelesen — the er/sie/es form of lesen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gelesen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) lasen — the wir form of lesen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is lasen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) wirst lesen — the du form of lesen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst lesen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) läse — the ich form of lesen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is läse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) lese — the er/sie/es form of lesen in the Konjunktiv I is lese. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatte gelesen — the ich form of lesen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gelesen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gelesen — the past participle of lesen is gelesen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to read — lesen means “to read” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does lesen mean in English?
lesen means “to read”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is lesen regular or irregular?
lesen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is lesend and the past participle is gelesen.
How do I practise lesen every day?
Say one sentence with lesen 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 lese ein Buch am Abend.”, “Ich habe ein Buch am Abend gelesen.” and “Ich werde ein Buch am Abend lesen.”. 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 lesen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of lesen — every tense of lesen in one place.
- Lesen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Lesen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Schreiben conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Verstehen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Kennen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- 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 lesen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise lesen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise lesen with the interactive tool.