Müssen Conjugation in German
müssen means “to have to” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 5 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.” — and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of müssen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: müssen
- English: to have to
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle
- Present participle (Partizip I): müssend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gemusst
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: weak in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for müssen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read müssen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about müssen
- It is irregular in 11 tense(s): present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gemusst. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are müssend and gemusst: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
- Modal verbs have no du-imperative: the verified tables give no du form for müssen — the du cell is marked with a dash — so do not invent one. To give an instruction, use the present tense instead, for example “Du musst morgen früh aufstehen.”
- Ersatzinfinitiv in the perfect: when müssen stands with another verb in a perfect tense, the infinitive replaces the past participle — the Ersatzinfinitiv. The table below gives the main-verb perfect habe gemusst, but with a dependent infinitive you say “Ich habe morgen früh aufstehen müssen.” — “I have had to get up early tomorrow morning.” This is a usage note, not a separate tense: the participle gemusst is still the form the table lists.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for müssen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the preterite, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | muss |
| du | musst |
| er/sie/es | muss |
| wir | müssen |
| ihr | müsst |
| sie/Sie | müssen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich muss heute viel arbeiten.” — “I must work a lot today.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | musste |
| du | musstest |
| er/sie/es | musste |
| wir | mussten |
| ihr | musstet |
| sie/Sie | mussten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du musstest heute viel arbeiten.” — “You had to work a lot today.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gemusst |
| du | hast gemusst |
| er/sie/es | hat gemusst |
| wir | haben gemusst |
| ihr | habt gemusst |
| sie/Sie | haben gemusst |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. The table gives the main-verb perfect, built with haben plus the participle gemusst. When müssen stands with a dependent infinitive, the Ersatzinfinitiv replaces the participle: “Ich habe morgen früh aufstehen müssen.” — “I have had to get up early tomorrow morning.” For example, the ich form in the table is habe gemusst.
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gemusst |
| du | hattest gemusst |
| er/sie/es | hatte gemusst |
| wir | hatten gemusst |
| ihr | hattet gemusst |
| sie/Sie | hatten gemusst |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich hatte es gemusst.” — “I had had to do it.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde müssen |
| du | wirst müssen |
| er/sie/es | wird müssen |
| wir | werden müssen |
| ihr | werdet müssen |
| sie/Sie | werden müssen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich werde es müssen.” — “I will have to do it.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gemusst haben |
| du | wirst gemusst haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gemusst haben |
| wir | werden gemusst haben |
| ihr | werdet gemusst haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gemusst haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du wirst es gemusst haben.” — “You will have had to do it.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | müsse |
| du | müssest |
| er/sie/es | müsse |
| wir | müssen |
| ihr | müsset |
| sie/Sie | müssen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Er müsse heute viel arbeiten.” — “He must work a lot today.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | müsste |
| du | müsstest |
| er/sie/es | müsste |
| wir | müssten |
| ihr | müsstet |
| sie/Sie | müssten |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich müsste heute viel arbeiten.” — “I would have to work a lot today.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gemusst |
| du | hättest gemusst |
| er/sie/es | hätte gemusst |
| wir | hätten gemusst |
| ihr | hättet gemusst |
| sie/Sie | hätten gemusst |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. With müssen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Er hätte es gemusst.” — “He would have had to do it.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | — |
| wir | müssen |
| ihr | müsst |
| sie/Sie | müssen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. The verified tables give no imperative form for müssen in the du person — the cell is marked with a dash — because modal verbs have no du-imperative in the dump. Do not invent one: to give an instruction with müssen, German speakers use the present tense instead, for example “Du musst morgen früh aufstehen.” — “You must get up early tomorrow morning.” The wir, ihr and sie forms in the table are given exactly as the dump lists them.
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | müssend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle müssend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gemusst |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe es gemusst.” — “I have had to do it.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | müssen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with müssen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.”
- “Du musstest heute viel arbeiten.” — “You had to work a lot today.”
- “Er hat es gemusst.” — “He has had to do it.”
- “Ich werde es müssen.” — “I will have to do it.”
- “Du müsstest heute viel arbeiten.” — “You would have to work a lot today.”
- “Ich hatte es gemusst.” — “I had had to do it.”
- “Du wirst es gemusst haben.” — “You will have had to do it.”
- “Er müsse jetzt nach Hause gehen.” — “He must go home now.”
- “Ich hätte es gemusst.” — “I would have had to do it.”
- “Du musst morgen früh aufstehen.” — “You must get up early tomorrow morning.”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich müssen morgen früh aufstehen.”
✓ Right: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.”
The infinitive müssen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form muss.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich müssen morgen früh aufstehen.”
✓ Right: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.”
müssen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with muss.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemusst.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gemusst, not the present.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin morgen früh aufstehen gemusst.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemusst.”
The Perfekt of müssen is formed with haben plus the past participle gemusst: the ich form is habe gemusst. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich musste morgen früh aufstehen gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gemusst.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gemusst is the usual past tense. The preterite musste is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Inventing a du-imperative for a modal verb
✗ Wrong: “Kann morgen früh aufstehen!” (invented du-imperative)
✓ Right: “Du musst morgen früh aufstehen.”
Modal verbs have no du-imperative in the verified tables — the du cell is a dash, not a form. Use the present tense musst to tell someone what they can or must do.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on müssen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of müssen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) muss
- B) musst
- C) müssen
- D) müsst
What is the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) musstest
- B) mussten
- C) musstet
- D) musste
What is the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gemusst
- B) hast gemusst
- C) haben gemusst
- D) hat gemusst
What is the du form of müssen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden müssen
- B) wirst müssen
- C) werde müssen
- D) wird müssen
What is the ich form of müssen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) müsste
- B) müsstest
- C) müssten
- D) müsstet
What is the wir form of müssen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gemusst
- B) hatte gemusst
- C) hattest gemusst
- D) hattet gemusst
What is the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) müsse
- B) müssest
- C) müssen
- D) müsset
What is the ihr form of müssen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) habt gemusst
- B) müsst
- C) müssen
- D) musstet
What is the past participle of müssen?
- A) gemusst
- B) gesollt
- C) gewollt
- D) gedurft
What does müssen mean in English?
- A) to want
- B) to be allowed to
- C) to have to
- D) should, to be supposed to
Answer key
- A) muss — the ich form of müssen in the Present (Präsens) is muss. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) musste — the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is musste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gemusst — the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gemusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wirst müssen — the du form of müssen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst müssen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) müsste — the ich form of müssen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is müsste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten gemusst — the wir form of müssen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gemusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) müsse — the er/sie/es form of müssen in the Konjunktiv I is müsse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) müsst — the ihr form of müssen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is müsst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) gemusst — the past participle of müssen is gemusst; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to have to — müssen means “to have to” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does müssen mean in English?
müssen means “to have to”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is müssen regular or irregular?
müssen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is müssend and the past participle is gemusst.
What are the participles of müssen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is müssend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gemusst — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gemusst.
Which auxiliary does müssen take in the Perfekt?
müssen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gemusst. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gemusst.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form müsste is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gemusst covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I must get up early tomorrow morning” in German?
Say “Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen.” — “I must get up early tomorrow morning.” The ich form of the present is muss, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of müssen — every tense of müssen in one place.
- Müssen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Müssen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sollen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Wollen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Dürfen 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 Conjugator — practise müssen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise müssen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise müssen with the interactive tool.