Verlieren: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Verlieren means “to lose”, 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 verlieren, 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 verlieren, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.”
  2. “Du verlierst das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “You lose the game every day.”
  3. “Ich habe mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “I have lost my phone yesterday.”
  4. “Er verlor meine Schlüssel gestern.” — “He lost my keys yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden das Spiel verlieren morgen.” — “We will lose the game tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “You have lost my phone yesterday.”
  7. “Ich verlöre meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “I would lose my keys one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er verliere das Spiel.” — “It is important that he lose the game.”
  9. “Wir hatten mein Handy verloren vor der Party.” — “We had lost my phone before the party.”
  10. “Er wird meine Schlüssel verlieren morgen.” — “He will lose my keys tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie verlieren das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “They lose the game every day.”
  12. “Verlier mein Handy!” — “Lose my phone!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du verlierst meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “You lose my keys every day.” Jonas: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.” Lena: “Du wirst das Spiel verlieren morgen.” — “You will lose the game tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde das Spiel verlieren morgen.” — “I will lose the game tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “You have lost my phone yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “I have lost my phone yesterday.” Lena: “Du verlörest meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “You would lose my keys one day.” Jonas: “Ich verlöre meine Schlüssel eines Tages.” — “I would lose my keys 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.

Verlieren in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, verlieren describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is verliere: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, verlieren describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is verlor: “Er verlor das Spiel gestern.” — “He lost the game yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, verlieren reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle verloren. The ich form is habe verloren: “Ich habe mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “I have lost my phone yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, verlieren talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden verlieren: “Wir werden meine Schlüssel verlieren morgen.” — “We will lose my keys tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, verlieren 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 verlörest: “Du verlörest das Spiel eines Tages.” — “You would lose the game one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, verlieren appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is verliere, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich verliere mein Handy.” — “It is important that I lose my phone.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich verlieren meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel.”

The infinitive verlieren never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form verliere.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du verliere meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Du verlierst meine Schlüssel.”

verliere is the ich form. With du you need verlierst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du verlierst das Spiel.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du verlierest das Spiel.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: verlierest, not the indicative verlierst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich verloren meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) verliert
    • B) verlieren
    • C) verliere
    • D) verlierst

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

    • A) verlierst
    • B) verliere
    • C) verliert
    • D) verlieren

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

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

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

    • A) verlor
    • B) verlorst
    • C) verlort
    • D) verloren

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of verlieren in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) verlören
    • B) verlöret
    • C) verlöre
    • D) verlörest

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

    • A) verlieren
    • B) verliert
    • C) verliere
    • D) verlierest

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

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

  9. What is the past participle (Partizip II) of verlieren?

    • A) begonnen
    • B) geendet
    • C) geöffnet
    • D) verloren

  10. What does verlieren mean in English?

  • A) to end
  • B) to open
  • C) to lose
  • D) to begin

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does verlieren mean in English?

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

Is verlieren regular or irregular?

verlieren is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is verlierend and Partizip II is verloren.

How do I practise verlieren every day?

Say one sentence with verlieren 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 verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren gestern.” and “Ich werde meine Schlüssel verlieren 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 verlieren, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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