Suchen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Suchen means “to search”, 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 suchen, 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 suchen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.”
  2. “Du suchst ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “You search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
  3. “Ich habe eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “I have searched for a job since June.”
  4. “Er suchte meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “He searched for my keys in the living room.”
  5. “Wir werden ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin suchen.” — “We will search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
  6. “Du hast eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “You have searched for a job since June.”
  7. “Ich suchte meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I would search for my keys in the living room.”
  8. “Er suche ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “He searches for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
  9. “Wir hatten eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “We had searched for a job since June.”
  10. “Er wird meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer suchen.” — “He will search for my keys in the living room.”
  11. “Sie suchen ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “They search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
  12. “Such eine Arbeit seit Juni!” — “Search for a job since June!”

A short dialogue

Lena and Jonas are talking about my keys in the living room. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how suchen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of suchen below is taken from the verified tables.

Lena: “Suchst du meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer?” — “You search for my keys in the living room?” Jonas: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin suchen.” — “I will search for a good restaurant in Berlin.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “I have searched for a job since June.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich suchte meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I would search for my keys in the living room.”

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.

Suchen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, suchen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is suche: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.”

The preterite: the past as a finished event

In the preterite, suchen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is suchte: “Er suchte ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “He searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, suchen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gesucht. The ich form is habe gesucht: “Ich habe eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “I have searched for a job since June.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, suchen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden suchen: “Wir werden meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer suchen.” — “We will search for my keys in the living room.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, suchen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is suchtest: “Du suchtest ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “You would search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In reported speech, suchen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is suche: “Er suche eine Arbeit seit Juni.” — “He searches for a job since June.” 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 suchen meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”

✓ Right: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”

The infinitive suchen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form suche.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”

✓ Right: “Du suchst meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”

suche is the ich form. With du you need suchst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.”

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

Using the indicative in reported speech

✗ Wrong: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” (quoted as reported speech)

✓ Right: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” (quoted as reported speech)

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich gesucht meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) suche
    • B) suchst
    • C) sucht
    • D) suchen

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

    • A) sucht
    • B) suchen
    • C) suchst
    • D) suche

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

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

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

    • A) suchtest
    • B) suchtet
    • C) suchten
    • D) suchte

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

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

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

    • A) suchte
    • B) suchtest
    • C) suchten
    • D) suchtet

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

    • A) suche
    • B) suchest
    • C) suchen
    • D) suchet

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

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

  9. What is the past participle of suchen?

    • A) bezahlt
    • B) gesucht
    • C) gekauft
    • D) verkauft

  10. What does suchen mean in English?

  • A) to buy
  • B) to sell
  • C) to pay
  • D) to search

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does suchen mean in English?

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

Is suchen regular or irregular?

suchen is regular in every tense. The present participle is suchend and the past participle is gesucht.

How do I practise suchen every day?

Say one sentence with suchen 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 suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”, “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.” and “Ich werde meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer suchen.”. 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 suchen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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