Schreien Conjugation in German

schreien means “to shout” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 108 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about shouting loudly in the garden, 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 schreien — 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 schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: schreien
  • English: to shout
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
  • Pattern: strong
  • Separable: no
  • Participle I: schreiend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): geschrien
  • 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 schreien, 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 schreien in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about schreien

  1. It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle geschrien. 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 schreiend and Partizip II is geschrien: 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 schreien. 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 schreie
du schreist
er/sie/es schreit
wir schreien
ihr schreit
sie/Sie schreien

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With schreien this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich schreie vor Freude im Park jeden Tag.” — “I shout with joy in the park every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich schrie
du schriest
er/sie/es schrie
wir schrieen
ihr schriet
sie/Sie schrieen

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With schreien this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du schriest vor Freude im Park gestern.” — “You shouted with joy in the park yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

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

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat vor Freude im Park geschrien gestern.” — “He has shouted with joy in the park yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

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

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten vor Freude im Park geschrien vor der Party.” — “We had shouted with joy in the park before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

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

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde vor Freude im Park schreien morgen.” — “I will shout with joy in the park tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

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

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst vor Freude im Park geschrien haben bis morgen.” — “You will have shouted with joy in the park by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich schreie
du schreiest
er/sie/es schreie
wir schreien
ihr schreiet
sie/Sie schreien

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er schreie vor Freude im Park.” — “It is important that he shout with joy in the park.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich schriee
du schrieest
er/sie/es schriee
wir schrieen
ihr schrieet
sie/Sie schrieen

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 schriee vor Freude im Park eines Tages.” — “I would shout with joy in the park one day.”

Conditional perfect

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

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte vor Freude im Park geschrien gestern.” — “He would have shouted with joy in the park yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du schrei
wir schreien
ihr schreit
sie schreien

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With schreien this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Schrei vor Freude im Park!” — “Shout with joy in the park!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle schreiend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle schreiend describes something that is shouting. The present-tense sentence “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle geschrien

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe laut im Garten geschrien gestern.” — “I have shouted loudly in the garden yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive schreien

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive schreien 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 laut im Garten schreien morgen.” — “I will shout loudly in the garden tomorrow.”

Example sentences

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

  1. “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.”
  2. “Du schriest vor Freude im Park gestern.” — “You shouted with joy in the park yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “He has shouted for help in the street yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten laut im Garten geschrien vor der Party.” — “We had shouted loudly in the garden before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde vor Freude im Park schreien morgen.” — “I will shout with joy in the park tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien haben bis morgen.” — “You will have shouted for help in the street by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er schreie laut im Garten.” — “It is important that he shout loudly in the garden.”
  8. “Ich schriee vor Freude im Park eines Tages.” — “I would shout with joy in the park one day.”
  9. “Er hätte nach Hilfe auf der Straße geschrien gestern.” — “He would have shouted for help in the street yesterday.”
  10. “Schrei laut im Garten!” — “Shout loudly in the garden!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schreien laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich schreie laut im Garten.”

The infinitive schreien never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form schreie.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich schreien laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Ich schreie laut im Garten.”

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

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich schreie laut im Garten gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe laut im Garten geschrien gestern.”

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

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schreie laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schreie laut im Garten.”

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

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin geschrien laut im Garten.”

✓ Right: “habe geschrien laut im Garten.”

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

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich schrie laut im Garten jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) schreien
    • B) schreie
    • C) schreist
    • D) schreit

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

    • A) schrie
    • B) schrieen
    • C) schriet
    • D) schriest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    • A) schreiet
    • B) schreie
    • C) schreiest
    • D) schreien

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

    • A) schrieet
    • B) schriee
    • C) schrieest
    • D) schrieen

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

    • A) flüsternd
    • B) redend
    • C) erzählend
    • D) schreiend

  10. What does schreien mean in English?

  • A) to talk
  • B) to tell
  • C) to shout
  • D) to whisper

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does schreien mean in English?

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

Is schreien regular or irregular?

schreien is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is schreiend and Partizip II is geschrien.

What are the participles of schreien?

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

Which auxiliary does schreien take in the Perfekt?

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

How do I say “I shout” in German?

Say “Ich schreie laut im Garten jeden Tag.” — “I shout loudly in the garden every day.” The ich form of the present is schreie, and it is the form you will use most often.

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