Suchen Conjugation in German
suchen means “to search” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 52 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.” — 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 suchen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: suchen
- English: to search
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Present participle (Partizip I): suchend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gesucht
- 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 suchen, 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 suchen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about suchen
- 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 gesucht. 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 suchend and gesucht: 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 suchen. 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 | suche |
| du | suchst |
| er/sie/es | sucht |
| wir | suchen |
| ihr | sucht |
| sie/Sie | suchen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich suche ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “I search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | suchte |
| du | suchtest |
| er/sie/es | suchte |
| wir | suchten |
| ihr | suchtet |
| sie/Sie | suchten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du suchtest ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “You searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gesucht |
| du | hast gesucht |
| er/sie/es | hat gesucht |
| wir | haben gesucht |
| ihr | habt gesucht |
| sie/Sie | haben gesucht |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin gesucht.” — “He has searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gesucht |
| du | hattest gesucht |
| er/sie/es | hatte gesucht |
| wir | hatten gesucht |
| ihr | hattet gesucht |
| sie/Sie | hatten gesucht |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Ich hatte ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin gesucht.” — “I had searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde suchen |
| du | wirst suchen |
| er/sie/es | wird suchen |
| wir | werden suchen |
| ihr | werdet suchen |
| sie/Sie | werden suchen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. For example: “Ich werde ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin suchen.” — “I will search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gesucht haben |
| du | wirst gesucht haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gesucht haben |
| wir | werden gesucht haben |
| ihr | werdet gesucht haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gesucht haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin gesucht haben.” — “You will have searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | suche |
| du | suchest |
| er/sie/es | suche |
| wir | suchen |
| ihr | suchet |
| sie/Sie | suchen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. For example: “Er suche ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “He searches for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | suchte |
| du | suchtest |
| er/sie/es | suchte |
| wir | suchten |
| ihr | suchtet |
| sie/Sie | suchten |
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 suchte ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “I would search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gesucht |
| du | hättest gesucht |
| er/sie/es | hätte gesucht |
| wir | hätten gesucht |
| ihr | hättet gesucht |
| sie/Sie | hätten gesucht |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin gesucht.” — “He would have searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | such |
| wir | suchen |
| ihr | sucht |
| sie/Sie | suchen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. For example: “Such ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin!” — “Search for a good restaurant in Berlin!”
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | suchend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle suchend 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) | gesucht |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.” — “I have searched for my keys in the living room.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | suchen |
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 suchen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.”
- “Du suchtest ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “You searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
- “Er hat eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “He has searched for a job since June.”
- “Ich werde meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer suchen.” — “I will search for my keys in the living room.”
- “Du suchtest ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin.” — “You would search for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
- “Ich hatte eine Arbeit seit Juni gesucht.” — “I had searched for a job since June.”
- “Du wirst ein gutes Restaurant in Berlin gesucht haben.” — “You will have searched for a good restaurant in Berlin.”
- “Er suche eine Arbeit seit Juni.” — “He searches for a job since June.”
- “Ich hätte meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.” — “I would have searched for my keys in the living room.”
- “Such meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer!” — “Search for my keys in the living room!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form suche.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich suchen meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”
✓ Right: “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.”
suchen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with suche.
3. 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.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.”
The Perfekt of suchen is formed with haben plus the past participle gesucht: the ich form is habe gesucht. 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 suchte meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer gesucht.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gesucht is the usual past tense. The preterite suchte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Using the du form when talking to a group
✗ Wrong: “Such meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer!” (said to several people)
✓ Right: “Sucht meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer!”
The du imperative such is for one person you know well. For a group, use the ihr form sucht.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on suchen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of suchen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) suche
- B) suchst
- C) sucht
- D) suchen
What is the er/sie/es form of suchen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) suchte
- B) suchtest
- C) suchten
- D) suchtet
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
What is the du form of suchen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werden suchen
- B) wirst suchen
- C) werde suchen
- D) wird suchen
What is the ich form of suchen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) suchte
- B) suchtest
- C) suchten
- D) suchtet
What is the wir form of suchen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattet gesucht
- B) hatten gesucht
- C) hatte gesucht
- D) hattest gesucht
What is the er/sie/es form of suchen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) suche
- B) suchest
- C) suchen
- D) suchet
What is the du form of suchen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) suchst
- B) such
- C) suchen
- D) sucht
What is the past participle of suchen?
- A) bezahlt
- B) gesucht
- C) gekauft
- D) verkauft
What does suchen mean in English?
- A) to buy
- B) to sell
- C) to pay
- D) to search
Answer key
- A) suche — the ich form of suchen in the Present (Präsens) is suche. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) suchte — the er/sie/es form of suchen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is suchte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- 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.
- A) suchte — the ich form of suchen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is suchte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hatten gesucht — the wir form of suchen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gesucht. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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.
- B) such — the du form of suchen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is such. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) gesucht — the past participle of suchen is gesucht; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- 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: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. The present participle is suchend and the past participle is gesucht.
What are the participles of suchen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is suchend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gesucht — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gesucht.
Which auxiliary does suchen take in the Perfekt?
suchen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gesucht. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gesucht.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form suchte 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 gesucht covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I search for my keys in the living room” in German?
Say “Ich suche meine Schlüssel im Wohnzimmer.” — “I search for my keys in the living room.” The ich form of the present is suche, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of suchen — every tense of suchen in one place.
- Suchen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Suchen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Kaufen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Verkaufen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Bezahlen 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 suchen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise suchen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise suchen with the interactive tool.