Spielen Conjugation in German
spielen means “to play” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 22 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag.” — “I play football on Sunday.” — 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 spielen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: spielen
- English: to play
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Present participle (Partizip I): spielend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gespielt
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: weak in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for spielen, 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 spielen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about spielen
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gespielt. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are spielend and gespielt: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle 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 spielen. 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 | spiele |
| du | spielst |
| er/sie/es | spielt |
| wir | spielen |
| ihr | spielt |
| sie/Sie | spielen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich spiele Klavier jeden Tag.” — “I play the piano every day.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | spielte |
| du | spieltest |
| er/sie/es | spielte |
| wir | spielten |
| ihr | spieltet |
| sie/Sie | spielten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du spieltest Klavier jeden Tag.” — “You played the piano every day.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gespielt |
| du | hast gespielt |
| er/sie/es | hat gespielt |
| wir | haben gespielt |
| ihr | habt gespielt |
| sie/Sie | haben gespielt |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat Klavier jeden Tag gespielt.” — “He has played the piano every day.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gespielt |
| du | hattest gespielt |
| er/sie/es | hatte gespielt |
| wir | hatten gespielt |
| ihr | hattet gespielt |
| sie/Sie | hatten gespielt |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte Klavier jeden Tag gespielt.” — “I had played the piano every day.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde spielen |
| du | wirst spielen |
| er/sie/es | wird spielen |
| wir | werden spielen |
| ihr | werdet spielen |
| sie/Sie | werden spielen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde Klavier jeden Tag spielen.” — “I will play the piano every day.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gespielt haben |
| du | wirst gespielt haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gespielt haben |
| wir | werden gespielt haben |
| ihr | werdet gespielt haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gespielt haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst Klavier jeden Tag gespielt haben.” — “You will have played the piano every day.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | spiele |
| du | spielest |
| er/sie/es | spiele |
| wir | spielen |
| ihr | spielet |
| sie/Sie | spielen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er spiele Klavier jeden Tag.” — “He plays the piano every day.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | spielte |
| du | spieltest |
| er/sie/es | spielte |
| wir | spielten |
| ihr | spieltet |
| sie/Sie | spielten |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. For example: “Ich spielte Klavier jeden Tag.” — “I would play the piano every day.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gespielt |
| du | hättest gespielt |
| er/sie/es | hätte gespielt |
| wir | hätten gespielt |
| ihr | hättet gespielt |
| sie/Sie | hätten gespielt |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte Klavier jeden Tag gespielt.” — “He would have played the piano every day.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | spiel |
| wir | spielen |
| ihr | spielt |
| sie/Sie | spielen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. For example: “Spiel Klavier jeden Tag!” — “Play the piano every day!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | spielend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle spielend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gespielt |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.” — “I have played football on Sunday.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | spielen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with spielen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag.” — “I play football on Sunday.”
- “Du spieltest Klavier jeden Tag.” — “You played the piano every day.”
- “Er hat mit den Kindern im Park gespielt.” — “He has played with the children in the park.”
- “Ich werde Fußball am Sonntag spielen.” — “I will play football on Sunday.”
- “Du spieltest Klavier jeden Tag.” — “You would play the piano every day.”
- “Ich hatte mit den Kindern im Park gespielt.” — “I had played with the children in the park.”
- “Du wirst Klavier jeden Tag gespielt haben.” — “You will have played the piano every day.”
- “Er spiele mit den Kindern im Park.” — “He plays with the children in the park.”
- “Ich hätte Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.” — “I would have played football on Sunday.”
- “Spiel Fußball am Sonntag!” — “Play football on Sunday!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich spielen Fußball am Sonntag.”
✓ Right: “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag.”
The infinitive spielen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form spiele.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich spielen Fußball am Sonntag.”
✓ Right: “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag.”
spielen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with spiele.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gespielt, not the present.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.”
The Perfekt of spielen is formed with haben plus the past participle gespielt: the ich form is habe gespielt. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich spielte Fußball am Sonntag gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe Fußball am Sonntag gespielt.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gespielt is the usual past tense. The preterite spielte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Spiel Fußball am Sonntag!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Spielt Fußball am Sonntag!”
The du imperative spiel is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form spielt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on spielen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of spielen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) spielt
- B) spielen
- C) spiele
- D) spielst
What is the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) spielten
- B) spieltet
- C) spielte
- D) spieltest
What is the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hast gespielt
- B) haben gespielt
- C) hat gespielt
- D) habe gespielt
What is the du form of spielen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde spielen
- B) wird spielen
- C) werden spielen
- D) wirst spielen
What is the ich form of spielen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) spielten
- B) spieltet
- C) spielte
- D) spieltest
What is the wir form of spielen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte gespielt
- B) hattest gespielt
- C) hattet gespielt
- D) hatten gespielt
What is the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) spielen
- B) spielet
- C) spiele
- D) spielest
What is the du form of spielen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) spielen
- B) spielt
- C) spielst
- D) spiel
What is the past participle of spielen?
- A) gehört
- B) gefühlt
- C) gewohnt
- D) gespielt
What does spielen mean in English?
- A) to hear
- B) to feel
- C) to live
- D) to play
Answer key
- C) spiele — the ich form of spielen in the Present (Präsens) is spiele. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) spielte — the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is spielte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hat gespielt — the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gespielt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) wirst spielen — the du form of spielen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst spielen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) spielte — the ich form of spielen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is spielte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hatten gespielt — the wir form of spielen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gespielt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) spiele — the er/sie/es form of spielen in the Konjunktiv I is spiele. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) spiel — the du form of spielen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is spiel. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) gespielt — the past participle of spielen is gespielt; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to play — spielen means “to play” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does spielen mean in English?
spielen means “to play”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is spielen regular or irregular?
spielen is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. The present participle is spielend and the past participle is gespielt.
What are the participles of spielen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is spielend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gespielt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gespielt.
Which auxiliary does spielen take in the Perfekt?
spielen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gespielt. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gespielt.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form spielte is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gespielt covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I play football on Sunday” in German?
Say “Ich spiele Fußball am Sonntag.” — “I play football on Sunday.” The ich form of the present is spiele, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of spielen — every tense of spielen in one place.
- Spielen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spielen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Hören conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Fühlen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Wohnen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- 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 spielen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise spielen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise spielen with the interactive tool.