Reisen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Reisen means “to travel”, and this page covers exactly one thing: reisen 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 reisen, 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 reisen in the present. For example: “Ich reise nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Italy every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of reisen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Reisen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich reise
du reist
er/sie/es reist
wir reisen
ihr reist
sie/Sie reisen

Partizip I: reisend · Partizip II: gereist

The present participle is reisend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is gereist, which you use with sein in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is bin gereist, 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 reisen is used.

How the Präsens of reisen is formed

The present of reisen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich reise, du reist, er/sie/es reist, wir reisen, ihr reist, sie/Sie reisen. 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 reisend and Partizip II gereist belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise reisen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of reisen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use reisen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Travelling to Italy — the everyday use

Reisen is the verb for travelling to Italy. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich reise nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Italy every day.”

2. Travelling to Spain — a second everyday use

Reisen also covers travelling to Spain. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du reist nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “You travel to Spain every day.”

3. Travelling on holiday — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use reisen for travelling on holiday. 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 reist in den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “He travels on holiday 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 reisen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir reisen nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “We travel to Italy 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 reisen 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 reist nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “You travel to Spain 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 reise nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Italy every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich reiste nach Italien gestern.” — “I travelled to Italy 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 reist nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “You travel to Spain every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du reistest nach Spanien gestern.” — “You travelled to Spain 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 reisen in den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “We travel on holiday every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir reisten in den Urlaub gestern.” — “We travelled on holiday 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: reisen 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.

  1. “Ich reise nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Spain every day.”

  2. “Du reist in den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “You travel on holiday every day.”

  3. “Er reist nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “He travels to Italy every day.”

  4. “Wir reisen nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “We travel to Spain every day.”

  5. “Ihr reist in den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “You travel on holiday every day.”

  6. “Sie reisen nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “They travel to Italy every day.”

  7. “Ich reise nach Spanien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Spain every day.”

  8. “Du reist in den Urlaub jeden Tag.” — “You travel on holiday every day.”

Common mistakes with reisen 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 reisen nach Italien.” Right: “Ich reise nach Italien.” Why: The ich form is reise, not reisen. Reisen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir reisen nach Italien.” Right: “Wir reisen nach Italien.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: reisen, not reisen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich reisen nach Italien.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich reise nach Italien.” Why: The infinitive reisen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form reise.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich reise nach Italien.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich reise nach Italien.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use reise here, not the indicative reise.

Quiz: reisen 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 ______ nach Spanien.”

  • (A) reise
  • (B) reist
  • (C) reisen
  • (D) reiste

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ in den Urlaub.”

  • (A) reistest
  • (B) reist
  • (C) reise
  • (D) reisen

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ nach Italien.”

  • (A) reiste
  • (B) reist
  • (C) reise
  • (D) reisen

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ nach Spanien.”

  • (A) reist
  • (B) reisten
  • (C) reisen
  • (D) reise

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ in den Urlaub.”

  • (A) reistet
  • (B) reist
  • (C) reise
  • (D) reisen

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ nach Italien.”

  • (A) reist
  • (B) reisten
  • (C) reisen
  • (D) reise

7. What does reisen mean in English?

  • (A) to visit
  • (B) to cost
  • (C) to win
  • (D) to travel

8. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of reisen?

  • (A) gewonnen
  • (B) gereist
  • (C) besucht
  • (D) gekostet

Answer key

  1. A) reise — The ich form is reise.
  2. B) reist — The du form is reist.
  3. B) reist — The er/sie/es form is reist.
  4. C) reisen — The wir form is reisen.
  5. B) reist — The ihr form is reist.
  6. C) reisen — The sie/Sie form is reisen.
  7. D) to travel — reisen means “to travel”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) gereist — The past participle of reisen is gereist; the Präsens is formed with sein + gereist.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of reisen formed?

The present of reisen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich reise, du reist, er reist, wir reisen, ihr reist, sie reisen.

When do I use the present of reisen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich reise nach Italien jeden Tag.” — “I travel to Italy every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of reisen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich reise nach Italien jeden Tag.” with “Ich reiste nach Italien 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 reisen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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