Sparen Conjugation in German
sparen means “to save” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of sparen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.” — “I save money for the holiday.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and sparen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sparen
- English: to save
- Verb type: Weak verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Present participle (Partizip I): sparend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gespart
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sparen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for sparen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | spare |
| du | sparst |
| er/sie/es | spart |
| wir | sparen |
| ihr | spart |
| sie/Sie | sparen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | sparte |
| du | spartest |
| er/sie/es | sparte |
| wir | sparten |
| ihr | spartet |
| sie/Sie | sparten |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gespart |
| du | hast gespart |
| er/sie/es | hat gespart |
| wir | haben gespart |
| ihr | habt gespart |
| sie/Sie | haben gespart |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gespart |
| du | hattest gespart |
| er/sie/es | hatte gespart |
| wir | hatten gespart |
| ihr | hattet gespart |
| sie/Sie | hatten gespart |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde sparen |
| du | wirst sparen |
| er/sie/es | wird sparen |
| wir | werden sparen |
| ihr | werdet sparen |
| sie/Sie | werden sparen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gespart haben |
| du | wirst gespart haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gespart haben |
| wir | werden gespart haben |
| ihr | werdet gespart haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gespart haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | spare |
| du | sparest |
| er/sie/es | spare |
| wir | sparen |
| ihr | sparet |
| sie/Sie | sparen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | sparte |
| du | spartest |
| er/sie/es | sparte |
| wir | sparten |
| ihr | spartet |
| sie/Sie | sparten |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gespart |
| du | hättest gespart |
| er/sie/es | hätte gespart |
| wir | hätten gespart |
| ihr | hättet gespart |
| sie/Sie | hätten gespart |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | spar |
| wir | sparen |
| ihr | spart |
| sie/Sie | sparen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | sparend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gespart |
| Infinitive | sparen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.” — “I save money for the holiday.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. For example: “Du spartest Geld für den Urlaub.” — “You saved money for the holiday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With sparen it is formed with haben + the past participle gespart. For example: “Er hat Geld für den Urlaub gespart.” — “He has saved money for the holiday.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten Geld für den Urlaub gespart.” — “We had saved money for the holiday.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet Geld für den Urlaub sparen.” — “You will save money for the holiday.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden Geld für den Urlaub gespart haben.” — “They will have saved money for the holiday.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich Geld für den Urlaub spare.” — “It is important that I save money for the holiday.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du spartest Geld für den Urlaub.” — “You would save money for the holiday if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte Geld für den Urlaub gespart.” — “He would have saved money for the holiday if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Spar Geld für den Urlaub!” — “Save money for the holiday!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is sparend — “while saving” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is gespart, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gespart. The infinitive is sparen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sparen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.” — “I save money for the holiday.”
- “Du sparst Geld für den Urlaub.” — “You save money for the holiday.”
- “Er sparte Geld für den Urlaub.” — “He saved money for the holiday.”
- “Ich habe Geld für den Urlaub gespart.” — “I have saved money for the holiday.”
- “Er hatte Geld für den Urlaub gespart.” — “He had saved money for the holiday.”
- “Wir werden Geld für den Urlaub sparen.” — “We will save money for the holiday.”
- “Ich werde Geld für den Urlaub gespart haben.” — “I will have saved money for the holiday.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich Geld für den Urlaub spare.” — “It is important that I save money for the holiday.”
- “Ich sparte Geld für den Urlaub.” — “I would save money for the holiday if I could.”
- “Spar Geld für den Urlaub!” — “Save money for the holiday!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich sparen Geld für den Urlaub.”
✓ Right: “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.”
The infinitive sparen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form spare.
2. Confusing sparen with ausgeben
✗ Wrong: “Ich ausgeben Geld für den Urlaub.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.”
sparen means “to save”; ausgeben means “to spend”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin Geld für den Urlaub gespart.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Geld für den Urlaub gespart.”
With sparen the Perfekt is formed with haben, not sein: habe gespart.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du Geld für den Urlaub sparst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du Geld für den Urlaub sparest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use sparest here, not the indicative sparst.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Geld für den Urlaub gespart.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe gespart), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of sparen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) spare
- B) sparst
- C) sparen
- D) spart
What is the er/sie/es form of sparen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) sparst
- B) spare
- C) sparen
- D) spart
What is the ich form of sparen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) spartet
- B) spartest
- C) sparten
- D) sparte
What is the ich form of sparen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hat gespart
- B) habe gespart
- C) haben gespart
- D) habt gespart
What is the wir form of sparen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gespart
- B) hatten gespart
- C) hattet gespart
- D) hatte gespart
What is the du form of sparen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst sparen
- B) werdet sparen
- C) werde sparen
- D) wird sparen
What is the ich form of sparen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) werden gespart haben
- B) wird gespart haben
- C) werdet gespart haben
- D) werde gespart haben
What is the ich form of sparen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) sparte
- B) spartet
- C) spartest
- D) sparten
What is the past participle of sparen?
- A) spare
- B) sparend
- C) sparte
- D) gespart
What does sparen mean in English?
- A) to spend
- B) to save
- C) to come
- D) to do
Answer key
- A) spare — the ich form of sparen in the present tense is spare.
- D) spart — the er/sie/es form of sparen in the present tense is spart.
- D) sparte — the ich form of sparen in the preterite is sparte.
- B) habe gespart — the ich form of sparen in the Perfekt is habe gespart.
- B) hatten gespart — the wir form of sparen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten gespart.
- A) wirst sparen — the du form of sparen in the Futur I is wirst sparen.
- D) werde gespart haben — the ich form of sparen in the Futur II is werde gespart haben.
- A) sparte — the ich form of sparen in the Konjunktiv II is sparte.
- D) gespart — the past participle of sparen is gespart; perfect tenses use haben + gespart.
- B) to save — sparen means “to save” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does sparen mean in English?
sparen means “to save”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.” (“I save money for the holiday.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is sparen regular or irregular?
sparen is regular: its endings follow the standard weak pattern in every tense. The present participle is sparend and the past participle is gespart.
What are the participles of sparen?
The present participle is sparend and the past participle is gespart — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gespart.
What is the difference between sparen and ausgeben?
sparen means “to save”, while ausgeben means “to spend”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for ausgeben and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I save” in German?
Say “Ich spare Geld für den Urlaub.” — “I save money for the holiday.” The ich form of the present is spare, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn sparen
Start with the present tense: spare, sparst, spart, sparen, spart, sparen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe gespart — and the Präteritum — sparte. Next, learn the future (werde sparen) and the Konjunktiv II (sparte), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (spare) and the imperative (spar). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- sparen in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- sparen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise sparen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise sparen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.