Öffnen Conjugation in German
öffnen means “to open” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 45 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about opening the door, 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 öffnen — every tense, every person, both participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich öffne die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I open the door every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: öffnen
- English: to open
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Pattern: weak
- Separable: no
- Participle I: öffnend
- Past participle (Partizip II): geöffnet
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for öffnen, 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 öffnen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about öffnen
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle geöffnet. The tables on this page give the participle in the uninflected form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- Partizip I is öffnend and Partizip II is geöffnet: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because Partizip I appears in adjectival uses and Partizip II appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for öffnen. 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 | öffne |
| du | öffnest |
| er/sie/es | öffnet |
| wir | öffnen |
| ihr | öffnet |
| sie/Sie | öffnen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich öffne das Fenster jeden Tag.” — “I open the window every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | öffnete |
| du | öffnetest |
| er/sie/es | öffnete |
| wir | öffneten |
| ihr | öffnetet |
| sie/Sie | öffneten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du öffnetest das Fenster gestern.” — “You opened the window yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe geöffnet |
| du | hast geöffnet |
| er/sie/es | hat geöffnet |
| wir | haben geöffnet |
| ihr | habt geöffnet |
| sie/Sie | haben geöffnet |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat das Fenster geöffnet gestern.” — “He has opened the window yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte geöffnet |
| du | hattest geöffnet |
| er/sie/es | hatte geöffnet |
| wir | hatten geöffnet |
| ihr | hattet geöffnet |
| sie/Sie | hatten geöffnet |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten das Fenster geöffnet vor der Party.” — “We had opened the window before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde öffnen |
| du | wirst öffnen |
| er/sie/es | wird öffnen |
| wir | werden öffnen |
| ihr | werdet öffnen |
| sie/Sie | werden öffnen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde das Fenster öffnen morgen.” — “I will open the window tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde geöffnet haben |
| du | wirst geöffnet haben |
| er/sie/es | wird geöffnet haben |
| wir | werden geöffnet haben |
| ihr | werdet geöffnet haben |
| sie/Sie | werden geöffnet haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst das Fenster geöffnet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have opened the window by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | öffne |
| du | öffnest |
| er/sie/es | öffne |
| wir | öffnen |
| ihr | öffnet |
| sie/Sie | öffnen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er öffne das Fenster.” — “It is important that he open the window.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | öffnete |
| du | öffnetest |
| er/sie/es | öffnete |
| wir | öffneten |
| ihr | öffnetet |
| sie/Sie | öffneten |
Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, hypothetical situations and polite requests. It doubles as the conditional: there is no separate würde tense in the tables, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive is a way of expressing the same meaning, not a tense of its own. For example: “Ich öffnete das Fenster eines Tages.” — “I would open the window one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte geöffnet |
| du | hättest geöffnet |
| er/sie/es | hätte geöffnet |
| wir | hätten geöffnet |
| ihr | hättet geöffnet |
| sie/Sie | hätten geöffnet |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte das Fenster geöffnet gestern.” — “He would have opened the window yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | öffne |
| wir | öffnen |
| ihr | öffnet |
| sie | öffnen |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Öffne das Fenster!” — “Open the window!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | öffnend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle öffnend describes something that is opening. The present-tense sentence “Ich öffne die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I open the door every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | geöffnet |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe die Tür geöffnet gestern.” — “I have opened the door yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | öffnen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive öffnen is the form you look up in a dictionary. In a sentence it appears after a modal verb or with zu, and in the future it follows werden, as in “Ich werde die Tür öffnen morgen.” — “I will open the door tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with öffnen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich öffne die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I open the door every day.”
- “Du öffnetest das Fenster gestern.” — “You opened the window yesterday.”
- “Er hat das Buch geöffnet gestern.” — “He has opened the book yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten die Tür geöffnet vor der Party.” — “We had opened the door before the party.”
- “Ich werde das Fenster öffnen morgen.” — “I will open the window tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst das Buch geöffnet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have opened the book by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er öffne die Tür.” — “It is important that he open the door.”
- “Ich öffnete das Fenster eines Tages.” — “I would open the window one day.”
- “Er hätte das Buch geöffnet gestern.” — “He would have opened the book yesterday.”
- “Öffne die Tür!” — “Open the door!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich öffnen die Tür.”
✓ Right: “Ich öffne die Tür.”
The infinitive öffnen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form öffne.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich öffnen die Tür.”
✓ Right: “Ich öffne die Tür.”
öffnen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with öffne.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich öffne die Tür gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Tür geöffnet gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe geöffnet, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich öffne die Tür.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich öffne die Tür.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use öffne here, not the indicative öffne.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin geöffnet die Tür.”
✓ Right: “habe geöffnet die Tür.”
The Perfekt of öffnen is formed with haben plus the past participle geöffnet: the ich form is habe geöffnet. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich öffnete die Tür jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich öffne die Tür jeden Tag.”
The preterite öffnete describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present öffne.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on öffnen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of öffnen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) öffnest
- B) öffnet
- C) öffnen
- D) öffne
What is the du form of öffnen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) öffnete
- B) öffneten
- C) öffnetet
- D) öffnetest
What is the er/sie/es form of öffnen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hast geöffnet
- B) haben geöffnet
- C) hat geöffnet
- D) habe geöffnet
What is the wir form of öffnen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte geöffnet
- B) hattest geöffnet
- C) hattet geöffnet
- D) hatten geöffnet
What is the du form of öffnen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst öffnen
- B) werde öffnen
- C) wird öffnen
- D) werden öffnen
What is the ich form of öffnen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wird geöffnet haben
- B) werden geöffnet haben
- C) werde geöffnet haben
- D) wirst geöffnet haben
What is the er/sie/es form of öffnen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) öffnest
- B) öffnen
- C) öffnet
- D) öffne
What is the ich form of öffnen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) öffneten
- B) öffnetet
- C) öffnete
- D) öffnetest
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of öffnen?
- A) rennend
- B) öffnend
- C) schließend
- D) laufend
What does öffnen mean in English?
- A) to close
- B) to run
- C) to run fast
- D) to open
Answer key
- D) öffne — the ich form of öffnen in the Present (Präsens) is öffne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) öffnetest — the du form of öffnen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is öffnetest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hat geöffnet — the er/sie/es form of öffnen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat geöffnet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatten geöffnet — the wir form of öffnen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten geöffnet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) wirst öffnen — the du form of öffnen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst öffnen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) werde geöffnet haben — the ich form of öffnen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde geöffnet haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) öffne — the er/sie/es form of öffnen in the Konjunktiv I is öffne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) öffnete — the ich form of öffnen in the Konjunktiv II is öffnete. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) öffnend — the present participle (Partizip I) of öffnen is öffnend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to open — öffnen means “to open” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does öffnen mean in English?
öffnen means “to open”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is öffnen regular or irregular?
öffnen is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is öffnend and Partizip II is geöffnet.
What are the participles of öffnen?
Partizip I is öffnend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is geöffnet — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geöffnet.
Which auxiliary does öffnen take in the Perfekt?
öffnen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe geöffnet. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle geöffnet.
How do I say “I open” in German?
Say “Ich öffne die Tür jeden Tag.” — “I open the door every day.” The ich form of the present is öffne, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of öffnen — every tense of öffnen in one place.
- Öffnen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Öffnen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Schließen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Laufen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Rennen 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 Conjugator — practise öffnen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise öffnen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise öffnen with the interactive tool.