Träumen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Träumen means “to dream”, 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 träumen, 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 träumen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich träume von einem Urlaub am Meer jeden Tag.” — “I dream of a holiday by the sea every day.”
- “Du träumst von einem neuen Haus jeden Tag.” — “You dream of a new house every day.”
- “Ich habe von meiner Zukunft geträumt gestern.” — “I have dreamed of my future yesterday.”
- “Er träumte von einem Urlaub am Meer gestern.” — “He dreamed of a holiday by the sea yesterday.”
- “Wir werden von einem neuen Haus träumen morgen.” — “We will dream of a new house tomorrow.”
- “Du hast von meiner Zukunft geträumt gestern.” — “You have dreamed of my future yesterday.”
- “Ich träumte von einem Urlaub am Meer eines Tages.” — “I would dream of a holiday by the sea one day.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass er träume von einem neuen Haus.” — “It is important that he dream of a new house.”
- “Wir hatten von meiner Zukunft geträumt vor der Party.” — “We had dreamed of my future before the party.”
- “Er wird von einem Urlaub am Meer träumen morgen.” — “He will dream of a holiday by the sea tomorrow.”
- “Sie träumen von einem neuen Haus jeden Tag.” — “They dream of a new house every day.”
- “Träum von meiner Zukunft!” — “Dream of my future!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about of a holiday by the sea. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how träumen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of träumen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Du träumst von einem Urlaub am Meer jeden Tag.” — “You dream of a holiday by the sea every day.” Jonas: “Ich träume von einem Urlaub am Meer jeden Tag.” — “I dream of a holiday by the sea every day.” Lena: “Du wirst von einem neuen Haus träumen morgen.” — “You will dream of a new house tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde von einem neuen Haus träumen morgen.” — “I will dream of a new house tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast von meiner Zukunft geträumt gestern.” — “You have dreamed of my future yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe von meiner Zukunft geträumt gestern.” — “I have dreamed of my future yesterday.” Lena: “Du träumtest von einem Urlaub am Meer eines Tages.” — “You would dream of a holiday by the sea one day.” Jonas: “Ich träumte von einem Urlaub am Meer eines Tages.” — “I would dream of a holiday by the sea one day.”
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.
Träumen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of träumen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, träumen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is träume: “Ich träume von einem Urlaub am Meer jeden Tag.” — “I dream of a holiday by the sea every day.”
The preterite: the past in stories
In the preterite, träumen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is träumte: “Er träumte von einem neuen Haus gestern.” — “He dreamed of a new house yesterday.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, träumen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geträumt. The ich form is habe geträumt: “Ich habe von meiner Zukunft geträumt gestern.” — “I have dreamed of my future yesterday.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, träumen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden träumen: “Wir werden von einem Urlaub am Meer träumen morgen.” — “We will dream of a holiday by the sea tomorrow.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, träumen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive expresses the same meaning. The du form is träumtest: “Du träumtest von einem neuen Haus eines Tages.” — “You would dream of a new house one day.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In Konjunktiv I, träumen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is träume, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich träume von meiner Zukunft.” — “It is important that I dream of my future.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich träumen von einem Urlaub am Meer.”
✓ Right: “Ich träume von einem Urlaub am Meer.”
The infinitive träumen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form träume.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du träume von einem Urlaub am Meer.”
✓ Right: “Du träumst von einem Urlaub am Meer.”
träume is the ich form. With du you need träumst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich träume von einem Urlaub am Meer gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe von einem Urlaub am Meer geträumt gestern.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe geträumt, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du träumst von einem neuen Haus.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du träumest von einem neuen Haus.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: träumest, not the indicative träumst.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich geträumt von einem Urlaub am Meer.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe von einem Urlaub am Meer geträumt.”
The Perfekt of träumen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle geträumt: the full ich form is habe geträumt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on träumen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of träumen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) träumst
- B) träumt
- C) träumen
- D) träume
What is the du form of träumen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) träumen
- B) träumst
- C) träume
- D) träumt
What is the er/sie/es form of träumen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe geträumt
- B) hast geträumt
- C) haben geträumt
- D) hat geträumt
What is the wir form of träumen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) träumtet
- B) träumten
- C) träumte
- D) träumtest
What is the du form of träumen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst träumen
- B) werde träumen
- C) wird träumen
- D) werden träumen
What is the ich form of träumen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) träumtest
- B) träumten
- C) träumtet
- D) träumte
What is the er/sie/es form of träumen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) träumest
- B) träumen
- C) träumet
- D) träume
What is the ich form of träumen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten geträumt
- B) hattet geträumt
- C) hatte geträumt
- D) hattest geträumt
What is the past participle (Partizip II) of träumen?
- A) geträumt
- B) gelacht
- C) geweint
- D) gelächelt
What does träumen mean in English?
- A) to dream
- B) to laugh
- C) to cry
- D) to smile
Answer key
- D) träume — the ich form of träumen in the Present (Präsens) is träume. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) träumst — the du form of träumen in the Present (Präsens) is träumst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat geträumt — the er/sie/es form of träumen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat geträumt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) träumten — the wir form of träumen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is träumten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) wirst träumen — the du form of träumen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst träumen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) träumte — the ich form of träumen in the Konjunktiv II is träumte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) träume — the er/sie/es form of träumen in the Konjunktiv I is träume. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatte geträumt — the ich form of träumen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte geträumt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) geträumt — the past participle of träumen is geträumt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to dream — träumen means “to dream” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does träumen mean in English?
träumen means “to dream”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is träumen regular or irregular?
träumen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is träumend and Partizip II is geträumt.
How do I practise träumen every day?
Say one sentence with träumen 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 träume von einem Urlaub am Meer jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe von einem Urlaub am Meer geträumt gestern.” and “Ich werde von einem Urlaub am Meer träumen morgen.”. 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 träumen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of träumen — every tense of träumen in one place.
- Träumen in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Träumen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Lachen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Weinen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Lächeln 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 Quiz — practise träumen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise träumen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise träumen with the interactive tool.