Schlafen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Schlafen means “to sleep”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for schlafen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with schlafen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.” — “I sleep well tonight.”
  2. “Du schläfst acht Stunden.” — “You sleep eight hours.”
  3. “Ich habe früh am Abend geschlafen.” — “I have slept early in the evening.”
  4. “Er schlief gut heute Nacht.” — “He slept well tonight.”
  5. “Wir werden acht Stunden schlafen.” — “We will sleep eight hours.”
  6. “Du hast früh am Abend geschlafen.” — “You have slept early in the evening.”
  7. “Ich schliefe gut heute Nacht.” — “I would sleep well tonight.”
  8. “Er schlafe acht Stunden.” — “He sleeps eight hours.”
  9. “Wir hatten früh am Abend geschlafen.” — “We had slept early in the evening.”
  10. “Er wird gut heute Nacht schlafen.” — “He will sleep well tonight.”
  11. “Sie schlafen acht Stunden.” — “They sleep eight hours.”
  12. “Schlaf früh am Abend!” — “Sleep early in the evening!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about well tonight. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how schlafen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of schlafen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Schläfst du gut heute Nacht?” — “You sleep well tonight?” Jonas: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.” — “I sleep well tonight.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde acht Stunden schlafen.” — “I will sleep eight hours.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe früh am Abend geschlafen.” — “I have slept early in the evening.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich schliefe gut heute Nacht.” — “I would sleep well tonight.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Schlafen in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of schlafen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, schlafen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is schlafe: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.” — “I sleep well tonight.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, schlafen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is schlief: “Er schlief acht Stunden.” — “He slept eight hours.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, schlafen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle geschlafen. The ich form is habe geschlafen: “Ich habe früh am Abend geschlafen.” — “I have slept early in the evening.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, schlafen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden schlafen: “Wir werden gut heute Nacht schlafen.” — “We will sleep well tonight.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, schlafen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is schliefest: “Du schliefest acht Stunden.” — “You would sleep eight hours.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, schlafen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is schlafe: “Er schlafe früh am Abend.” — “He sleeps early in the evening.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schlafen gut heute Nacht.”

✓ Right: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.”

The infinitive schlafen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form schlafe.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du schlafe gut heute Nacht.”

✓ Right: “Du schläfst gut heute Nacht.”

schlafe is the ich form. With du you need schläfst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe gut heute Nacht geschlafen.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.” (quoted as reported speech)

In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: schlafe, not the indicative schlafe.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geschlafen gut heute Nacht.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe gut heute Nacht geschlafen.”

The Perfekt of schlafen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle geschlafen: the full ich form is habe geschlafen.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) schläft
    • B) schlafen
    • C) schlafe
    • D) schläfst

  2. What is the du form of schlafen in the Present (Präsens)?

    • A) schlafen
    • B) schläfst
    • C) schlafe
    • D) schläft

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

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

  4. What is the wir form of schlafen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) schlief
    • B) schliefst
    • C) schlieft
    • D) schliefen

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of schlafen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?

    • A) schliefet
    • B) schliefe
    • C) schliefest
    • D) schliefen

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

    • A) schlafen
    • B) schlafet
    • C) schlafe
    • D) schlafest

  8. What is the ich form of schlafen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

  9. What is the past participle of schlafen?

    • A) geschlafen
    • B) aufgestanden
    • C) angefangen
    • D) aufgehört

  10. What does schlafen mean in English?

  • A) to sleep
  • B) to get up
  • C) to start
  • D) to stop

Answer key

  1. C) schlafe — the ich form of schlafen in the Present (Präsens) is schlafe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) schläfst — the du form of schlafen in the Present (Präsens) is schläfst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) hat geschlafen — the er/sie/es form of schlafen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat geschlafen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. D) schliefen — the wir form of schlafen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is schliefen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) wirst schlafen — the du form of schlafen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst schlafen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) schliefe — the ich form of schlafen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is schliefe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) schlafe — the er/sie/es form of schlafen in the Konjunktiv I is schlafe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) hatte geschlafen — the ich form of schlafen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte geschlafen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) geschlafen — the past participle of schlafen is geschlafen. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to sleep — schlafen means “to sleep” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does schlafen mean in English?

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

Is schlafen regular or irregular?

schlafen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is schlafend and the past participle is geschlafen.

How do I practise schlafen every day?

Say one sentence with schlafen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich schlafe gut heute Nacht.”, “Ich habe gut heute Nacht geschlafen.” and “Ich werde gut heute Nacht schlafen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for schlafen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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