Reden Conjugation in German

reden means “to talk” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 111 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about talking with my friends about the weather, 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 reden — 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 rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.”

Quick facts

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

Three things to remember about reden

  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 geredet. 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 redend and Partizip II is geredet: 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 reden. 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 rede
du redest
er/sie/es redet
wir reden
ihr redet
sie/Sie reden

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich rede mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my family about the holiday every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich redete
du redetest
er/sie/es redete
wir redeten
ihr redetet
sie/Sie redeten

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du redetest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub gestern.” — “You talked with my family about the holiday yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

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

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub geredet gestern.” — “He has talked with my family about the holiday yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

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

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub geredet vor der Party.” — “We had talked with my family about the holiday before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

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

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub reden morgen.” — “I will talk with my family about the holiday tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

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

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub geredet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have talked with my family about the holiday by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich rede
du redest
er/sie/es rede
wir reden
ihr redet
sie/Sie reden

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er rede mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub.” — “It is important that he talk with my family about the holiday.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich redete
du redetest
er/sie/es redete
wir redeten
ihr redetet
sie/Sie redeten

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 redete mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub eines Tages.” — “I would talk with my family about the holiday one day.”

Conditional perfect

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

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub geredet gestern.” — “He would have talked with my family about the holiday yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du rede
wir reden
ihr redet
sie reden

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Rede mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub!” — “Talk with my family about the holiday!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle redend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle redend describes something that is talking. The present-tense sentence “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle geredet

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet gestern.” — “I have talked with my friends about the weather yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive reden

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive reden 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 mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter reden morgen.” — “I will talk with my friends about the weather tomorrow.”

Example sentences

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

  1. “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.”
  2. “Du redetest mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub gestern.” — “You talked with my family about the holiday yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “He has talked with my brother about the film yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet vor der Party.” — “We had talked with my friends about the weather before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub reden morgen.” — “I will talk with my family about the holiday tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have talked with my brother about the film by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.” — “It is important that he talk with my friends about the weather.”
  8. “Ich redete mit meiner Familie über den Urlaub eines Tages.” — “I would talk with my family about the holiday one day.”
  9. “Er hätte mit meinem Bruder über den Film geredet gestern.” — “He would have talked with my brother about the film yesterday.”
  10. “Rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter!” — “Talk with my friends about the weather!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich reden mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

The infinitive reden never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form rede.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich reden mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

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

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter geredet gestern.”

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

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

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

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin geredet mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

✓ Right: “habe geredet mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter.”

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

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich redete mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) rede
    • B) redest
    • C) redet
    • D) reden

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

    • A) redetest
    • B) redete
    • C) redeten
    • D) redetet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    • A) rede
    • B) redest
    • C) reden
    • D) redet

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

    • A) redetest
    • B) redeten
    • C) redetet
    • D) redete

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

    • A) erklärend
    • B) diskutierend
    • C) redend
    • D) erzählend

  10. What does reden mean in English?

  • A) to discuss
  • B) to talk
  • C) to tell
  • D) to explain

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does reden mean in English?

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

Is reden regular or irregular?

reden is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is redend and Partizip II is geredet.

What are the participles of reden?

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

Which auxiliary does reden take in the Perfekt?

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

How do I say “I talk” in German?

Say “Ich rede mit meinen Freunden über das Wetter jeden Tag.” — “I talk with my friends about the weather every day.” The ich form of the present is rede, and it is the form you will use most often.

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