Singen Conjugation in German
singen means “to sing” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 74 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about singing a song, 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 singen — 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 singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: singen
- English: to sing
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Pattern: strong
- Separable: no
- Participle I: singend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gesungen
- 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 singen, 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 singen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about singen
- 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.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gesungen. 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.
- Partizip I is singend and Partizip II is gesungen: 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 singen. 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 | singe |
| du | singst |
| er/sie/es | singt |
| wir | singen |
| ihr | singt |
| sie/Sie | singen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With singen 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 singe im Chor jeden Tag.” — “I sing in the choir every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | sang |
| du | sangst |
| er/sie/es | sang |
| wir | sangen |
| ihr | sangt |
| sie/Sie | sangen |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With singen 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 sangst im Chor gestern.” — “You sang in the choir yesterday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gesungen |
| du | hast gesungen |
| er/sie/es | hat gesungen |
| wir | haben gesungen |
| ihr | habt gesungen |
| sie/Sie | haben gesungen |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat im Chor gesungen gestern.” — “He has sung in the choir yesterday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gesungen |
| du | hattest gesungen |
| er/sie/es | hatte gesungen |
| wir | hatten gesungen |
| ihr | hattet gesungen |
| sie/Sie | hatten gesungen |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten im Chor gesungen vor der Party.” — “We had sung in the choir before the party.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde singen |
| du | wirst singen |
| er/sie/es | wird singen |
| wir | werden singen |
| ihr | werdet singen |
| sie/Sie | werden singen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde im Chor singen morgen.” — “I will sing in the choir tomorrow.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gesungen haben |
| du | wirst gesungen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gesungen haben |
| wir | werden gesungen haben |
| ihr | werdet gesungen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gesungen haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst im Chor gesungen haben bis morgen.” — “You will have sung in the choir by tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | singe |
| du | singest |
| er/sie/es | singe |
| wir | singen |
| ihr | singet |
| sie/Sie | singen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er singe im Chor.” — “It is important that he sing in the choir.”
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | sänge |
| du | sängest |
| er/sie/es | sänge |
| wir | sängen |
| ihr | sänget |
| sie/Sie | sängen |
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 sänge im Chor eines Tages.” — “I would sing in the choir one day.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gesungen |
| du | hättest gesungen |
| er/sie/es | hätte gesungen |
| wir | hätten gesungen |
| ihr | hättet gesungen |
| sie/Sie | hätten gesungen |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte im Chor gesungen gestern.” — “He would have sung in the choir yesterday.”
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | sing |
| wir | singen |
| ihr | singt |
| sie | singen |
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With singen 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: “Sing im Chor!” — “Sing in the choir!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle | singend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle singend describes something that is singing. The present-tense sentence “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.” shows the same verb in action.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle | gesungen |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe ein Lied gesungen gestern.” — “I have sung a song yesterday.”
Infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | singen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive singen 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 ein Lied singen morgen.” — “I will sing a song tomorrow.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with singen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.”
- “Du sangst im Chor gestern.” — “You sang in the choir yesterday.”
- “Er hat mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “He has sung with my friends yesterday.”
- “Wir hatten ein Lied gesungen vor der Party.” — “We had sung a song before the party.”
- “Ich werde im Chor singen morgen.” — “I will sing in the choir tomorrow.”
- “Du wirst mit meinen Freunden gesungen haben bis morgen.” — “You will have sung with my friends by tomorrow.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er singe ein Lied.” — “It is important that he sing a song.”
- “Ich sänge im Chor eines Tages.” — “I would sing in the choir one day.”
- “Er hätte mit meinen Freunden gesungen gestern.” — “He would have sung with my friends yesterday.”
- “Sing ein Lied!” — “Sing a song!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich singen ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Ich singe ein Lied.”
The infinitive singen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form singe.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich singen ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Ich singe ein Lied.”
singen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with singe.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich singe ein Lied gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe ein Lied gesungen gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gesungen, not the present.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich singe ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich singe ein Lied.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use singe here, not the indicative singe.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin gesungen ein Lied.”
✓ Right: “habe gesungen ein Lied.”
The Perfekt of singen is formed with haben plus the past participle gesungen: the ich form is habe gesungen. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Using the preterite for a daily habit
✗ Wrong: “Ich sang ein Lied jeden Tag.”
✓ Right: “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.”
The preterite sang describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present singe.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on singen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of singen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) singt
- B) singen
- C) singe
- D) singst
What is the du form of singen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) sangst
- B) sang
- C) sangen
- D) sangt
What is the er/sie/es form of singen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gesungen
- B) hast gesungen
- C) haben gesungen
- D) hat gesungen
What is the wir form of singen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gesungen
- B) hatte gesungen
- C) hattest gesungen
- D) hattet gesungen
What is the du form of singen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde singen
- B) wird singen
- C) werden singen
- D) wirst singen
What is the ich form of singen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gesungen haben
- B) wird gesungen haben
- C) werden gesungen haben
- D) werde gesungen haben
What is the er/sie/es form of singen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) singen
- B) singet
- C) singe
- D) singest
What is the ich form of singen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) sängest
- B) sängen
- C) sänget
- D) sänge
What is the present participle (Partizip I) of singen?
- A) singend
- B) kochend
- C) putzend
- D) waschend
What does singen mean in English?
- A) to sing
- B) to cook
- C) to clean
- D) to wash
Answer key
- C) singe — the ich form of singen in the Present (Präsens) is singe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) sangst — the du form of singen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is sangst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gesungen — the er/sie/es form of singen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gesungen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatten gesungen — the wir form of singen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gesungen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) wirst singen — the du form of singen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst singen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) werde gesungen haben — the ich form of singen in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gesungen haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) singe — the er/sie/es form of singen in the Konjunktiv I is singe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) sänge — the ich form of singen in the Konjunktiv II is sänge. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) singend — the present participle (Partizip I) of singen is singend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to sing — singen means “to sing” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does singen mean in English?
singen means “to sing”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is singen regular or irregular?
singen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is singend and Partizip II is gesungen.
What are the participles of singen?
Partizip I is singend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is gesungen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gesungen.
Which auxiliary does singen take in the Perfekt?
singen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gesungen. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gesungen.
How do I say “I sing” in German?
Say “Ich singe ein Lied jeden Tag.” — “I sing a song every day.” The ich form of the present is singe, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of singen — every tense of singen in one place.
- Singen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Singen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Kochen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Putzen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Waschen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise singen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise singen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise singen with the interactive tool.