Putzen Conjugation in German

putzen means “to clean” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 78 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about cleaning my teeth, 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 putzen — 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 putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: putzen
  • English: to clean
  • Verb type: Regular
  • Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
  • Pattern: weak
  • Separable: no
  • Participle I: putzend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): geputzt
  • 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 putzen, 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 putzen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about putzen

  1. 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.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle geputzt. 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.
  3. Partizip I is putzend and Partizip II is geputzt: 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 putzen. 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 putze
du putzt
er/sie/es putzt
wir putzen
ihr putzt
sie/Sie putzen

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich putze das Haus jeden Tag.” — “I clean the house every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich putzte
du putztest
er/sie/es putzte
wir putzten
ihr putztet
sie/Sie putzten

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du putztest das Haus gestern.” — “You cleaned the house yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe geputzt
du hast geputzt
er/sie/es hat geputzt
wir haben geputzt
ihr habt geputzt
sie/Sie haben geputzt

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat das Haus geputzt gestern.” — “He has cleaned the house yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte geputzt
du hattest geputzt
er/sie/es hatte geputzt
wir hatten geputzt
ihr hattet geputzt
sie/Sie hatten geputzt

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten das Haus geputzt vor der Party.” — “We had cleaned the house before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde putzen
du wirst putzen
er/sie/es wird putzen
wir werden putzen
ihr werdet putzen
sie/Sie werden putzen

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde das Haus putzen morgen.” — “I will clean the house tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde geputzt haben
du wirst geputzt haben
er/sie/es wird geputzt haben
wir werden geputzt haben
ihr werdet geputzt haben
sie/Sie werden geputzt haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst das Haus geputzt haben bis morgen.” — “You will have cleaned the house by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich putze
du putzest
er/sie/es putze
wir putzen
ihr putzet
sie/Sie putzen

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er putze das Haus.” — “It is important that he clean the house.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich putzte
du putztest
er/sie/es putzte
wir putzten
ihr putztet
sie/Sie putzten

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 putzte das Haus eines Tages.” — “I would clean the house one day.”

Conditional perfect

Person Form
ich hätte geputzt
du hättest geputzt
er/sie/es hätte geputzt
wir hätten geputzt
ihr hättet geputzt
sie/Sie hätten geputzt

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte das Haus geputzt gestern.” — “He would have cleaned the house yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du putz
wir putzen
ihr putzt
sie putzen

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Putz das Haus!” — “Clean the house!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle putzend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle putzend describes something that is cleaning. The present-tense sentence “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle geputzt

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe die Zähne geputzt gestern.” — “I have cleaned my teeth yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive putzen

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive putzen 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 Zähne putzen morgen.” — “I will clean my teeth tomorrow.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with putzen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.”
  2. “Du putztest das Haus gestern.” — “You cleaned the house yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “He has cleaned my shoes yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten die Zähne geputzt vor der Party.” — “We had cleaned my teeth before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde das Haus putzen morgen.” — “I will clean the house tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst meine Schuhe geputzt haben bis morgen.” — “You will have cleaned my shoes by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er putze die Zähne.” — “It is important that he clean my teeth.”
  8. “Ich putzte das Haus eines Tages.” — “I would clean the house one day.”
  9. “Er hätte meine Schuhe geputzt gestern.” — “He would have cleaned my shoes yesterday.”
  10. “Putz die Zähne!” — “Clean my teeth!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich putzen die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Ich putze die Zähne.”

The infinitive putzen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form putze.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich putzen die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Ich putze die Zähne.”

putzen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with putze.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich putze die Zähne gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe die Zähne geputzt gestern.”

The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe geputzt, not the present.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich putze die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich putze die Zähne.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use putze here, not the indicative putze.

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin geputzt die Zähne.”

✓ Right: “habe geputzt die Zähne.”

The Perfekt of putzen is formed with haben plus the past participle geputzt: the ich form is habe geputzt. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich putzte die Zähne jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.”

The preterite putzte describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present putze.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on putzen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the ich form of putzen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) putze
    • B) putzt
    • C) putzen
    • D) putzte

  2. What is the du form of putzen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) putztet
    • B) putztest
    • C) putzte
    • D) putzten

  3. What is the er/sie/es form of putzen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?

    • A) hat geputzt
    • B) habe geputzt
    • C) hast geputzt
    • D) haben geputzt

  4. What is the wir form of putzen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hattet geputzt
    • B) hatten geputzt
    • C) hatte geputzt
    • D) hattest geputzt

  5. What is the du form of putzen in the Future (Futur I)?

    • A) werden putzen
    • B) wirst putzen
    • C) werde putzen
    • D) wird putzen

  6. What is the ich form of putzen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?

    • A) werde geputzt haben
    • B) wirst geputzt haben
    • C) wird geputzt haben
    • D) werden geputzt haben

  7. What is the er/sie/es form of putzen in the Konjunktiv I?

    • A) putze
    • B) putzest
    • C) putzen
    • D) putzet

  8. What is the ich form of putzen in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) putzte
    • B) putztest
    • C) putzten
    • D) putztet

  9. What is the present participle (Partizip I) of putzen?

    • A) duschend
    • B) badend
    • C) putzend
    • D) waschend

  10. What does putzen mean in English?

  • A) to shower
  • B) to bathe
  • C) to clean
  • D) to wash

Answer key

  1. A) putze — the ich form of putzen in the Present (Präsens) is putze. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) putztest — the du form of putzen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is putztest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) hat geputzt — the er/sie/es form of putzen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat geputzt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) hatten geputzt — the wir form of putzen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten geputzt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) wirst putzen — the du form of putzen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst putzen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) werde geputzt haben — the ich form of putzen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde geputzt haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) putze — the er/sie/es form of putzen in the Konjunktiv I is putze. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) putzte — the ich form of putzen in the Konjunktiv II is putzte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. C) putzend — the present participle (Partizip I) of putzen is putzend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to clean — putzen means “to clean” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does putzen mean in English?

putzen means “to clean”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is putzen regular or irregular?

putzen is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is putzend and Partizip II is geputzt.

What are the participles of putzen?

Partizip I is putzend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is geputzt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe geputzt.

Which auxiliary does putzen take in the Perfekt?

putzen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe geputzt. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle geputzt.

How do I say “I clean” in German?

Say “Ich putze die Zähne jeden Tag.” — “I clean my teeth every day.” The ich form of the present is putze, and it is the form you will use most often.

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