Meinen in the Present Tense in German
Introduction
Meinen means “to mean”, and this page covers exactly one thing: meinen 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 meinen, 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 meinen in the present. For example: “Ich meine es ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean it seriously every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of meinen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.
Meinen in the Present Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | meine |
| du | meinst |
| er/sie/es | meint |
| wir | meinen |
| ihr | meint |
| sie/Sie | meinen |
Partizip I: meinend · Partizip II: gemeint
The present participle is meinend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gemeint, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe gemeint, 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 meinen is used.
How the Präsens of meinen is formed
The present of meinen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich meine, du meinst, er/sie/es meint, wir meinen, ihr meint, sie/Sie meinen. 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 meinend and Partizip II gemeint belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise meinen in every tense.
When to use the Präsens of meinen
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use meinen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Meaning it seriously — the everyday use
Meinen is the verb for meaning it seriously. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich meine es ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean it seriously every day.”
2. Meaning the question seriously — a second everyday use
Meinen also covers meaning the question seriously. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du meinst die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the question seriously every day.”
3. Meaning the suggestion seriously — a third everyday use
In a third everyday situation, you use meinen for meaning the suggestion seriously. 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 meint den Vorschlag ernst jeden Tag.” — “He means the suggestion seriously 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 meinen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir meinen es ernst jeden Tag.” — “We mean it seriously 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 meinen 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 meint die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the question seriously 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 meine es ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean it seriously every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich meinte es ernst gestern.” — “I meant it seriously 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 meinst die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the question seriously every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Du meintest die Frage ernst gestern.” — “You meant the question seriously 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 meinen den Vorschlag ernst jeden Tag.” — “We mean the suggestion seriously every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir meinten den Vorschlag ernst gestern.” — “We meant the suggestion seriously 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: meinen 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.
“Ich meine die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean the question seriously every day.”
“Du meinst den Vorschlag ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the suggestion seriously every day.”
“Er meint es ernst jeden Tag.” — “He means it seriously every day.”
“Wir meinen die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “We mean the question seriously every day.”
“Ihr meint den Vorschlag ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the suggestion seriously every day.”
“Sie meinen es ernst jeden Tag.” — “They mean it seriously every day.”
“Ich meine die Frage ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean the question seriously every day.”
“Du meinst den Vorschlag ernst jeden Tag.” — “You mean the suggestion seriously every day.”
Common mistakes with meinen 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 meinen es ernst.” Right: “Ich meine es ernst.” Why: The ich form is meine, not meinen. Meinen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.
Wrong: “Wir meinen es ernst.” Right: “Wir meinen es ernst.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: meinen, not meinen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.
Wrong: “Ich meinen es ernst.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich meine es ernst.” Why: The infinitive meinen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form meine.
Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine es ernst.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine es ernst.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use meine here, not the indicative meine.
Quiz: meinen 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 ______ die Frage ernst.”
- (A) meint
- (B) meinen
- (C) meine
- (D) meinst
2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ den Vorschlag ernst.”
- (A) meinst
- (B) meine
- (C) meint
- (D) meinen
3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ es ernst.”
- (A) meine
- (B) meinst
- (C) meinen
- (D) meint
4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ die Frage ernst.”
- (A) meinen
- (B) meine
- (C) meinst
- (D) meint
5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ den Vorschlag ernst.”
- (A) meine
- (B) meinst
- (C) meinen
- (D) meint
6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ es ernst.”
- (A) meinen
- (B) meine
- (C) meinst
- (D) meint
7. What does meinen mean in English?
- (A) to mean
- (B) to forget
- (C) to remember
- (D) to hope
8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of meinen?
- (A) vergessen
- (B) geerinnert
- (C) gehofft
- (D) gemeint
Answer key
- C) meine — The ich form is meine.
- A) meinst — The du form is meinst.
- D) meint — The er/sie/es form is meint.
- A) meinen — The wir form is meinen.
- D) meint — The ihr form is meint.
- A) meinen — The sie/Sie form is meinen.
- A) to mean — meinen means “to mean”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
- D) gemeint — The past participle of meinen is gemeint; the Präsens is formed with haben + gemeint.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present of meinen formed?
The present of meinen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich meine, du meinst, er meint, wir meinen, ihr meint, sie meinen.
When do I use the present of meinen?
Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich meine es ernst jeden Tag.” — “I mean it seriously every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of meinen?
The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich meine es ernst jeden Tag.” with “Ich meinte es ernst 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 meinen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of meinen — every tense of meinen in one place.
- Meinen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Meinen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Vergessen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Erinnern conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Hoffen 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.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise meinen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise meinen with the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise meinen with the interactive tool.