Verlieren Conjugation in German

verlieren means “to lose” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 53 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about losing my keys, 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 verlieren — every tense, every person, both participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: verlieren
  • English: to lose
  • Verb type: Irregular
  • Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
  • Pattern: strong
  • Separable: no
  • Participle I: verlierend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): verloren
  • Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)

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. 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 verlieren in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about verlieren

  1. It is irregular in 4 tense(s): present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle verloren. The tables on this page give the participle in the uninflected form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
  3. Partizip I is verlierend and Partizip II is verloren: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because Partizip I appears in adjectival uses and Partizip II 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 verlieren. 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 verliere
du verlierst
er/sie/es verliert
wir verlieren
ihr verliert
sie/Sie verlieren

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With verlieren this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich verliere das Spiel jeden Tag.” — “I lose the game every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich verlor
du verlorst
er/sie/es verlor
wir verloren
ihr verlort
sie/Sie verloren

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With verlieren this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du verlorst das Spiel gestern.” — “You lost the game yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

Person Form
ich habe verloren
du hast verloren
er/sie/es hat verloren
wir haben verloren
ihr habt verloren
sie/Sie haben verloren

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat das Spiel verloren gestern.” — “He has lost the game yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

Person Form
ich hatte verloren
du hattest verloren
er/sie/es hatte verloren
wir hatten verloren
ihr hattet verloren
sie/Sie hatten verloren

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten das Spiel verloren vor der Party.” — “We had lost the game before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

Person Form
ich werde verlieren
du wirst verlieren
er/sie/es wird verlieren
wir werden verlieren
ihr werdet verlieren
sie/Sie werden verlieren

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde das Spiel verlieren morgen.” — “I will lose the game tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

Person Form
ich werde verloren haben
du wirst verloren haben
er/sie/es wird verloren haben
wir werden verloren haben
ihr werdet verloren haben
sie/Sie werden verloren haben

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst das Spiel verloren haben bis morgen.” — “You will have lost the game by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich verliere
du verlierest
er/sie/es verliere
wir verlieren
ihr verliert
sie/Sie verlieren

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er verliere das Spiel.” — “It is important that he lose the game.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich verlöre
du verlörest
er/sie/es verlöre
wir verlören
ihr verlöret
sie/Sie verlören

Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, hypothetical situations and polite requests. It doubles as the conditional: there is no separate würde tense in the tables, and the periphrastic alternative with würde plus the infinitive is a way of expressing the same meaning, not a tense of its own. For example: “Ich verlöre das Spiel eines Tages.” — “I would lose the game one day.”

Conditional perfect

Person Form
ich hätte verloren
du hättest verloren
er/sie/es hätte verloren
wir hätten verloren
ihr hättet verloren
sie/Sie hätten verloren

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte das Spiel verloren gestern.” — “He would have lost the game yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du verlier
wir verlieren
ihr verliert
sie verlieren

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With verlieren this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Verlier das Spiel!” — “Lose the game!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle verlierend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle verlierend describes something that is losing. The present-tense sentence “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle verloren

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 verloren gestern.” — “I have lost my keys yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive verlieren

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive verlieren is the form you look up in a dictionary. In a sentence it appears after a modal verb or with zu, and in the future it follows werden, as in “Ich werde meine Schlüssel verlieren morgen.” — “I will lose my keys tomorrow.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with verlieren, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.”
  2. “Du verlorst das Spiel gestern.” — “You lost the game yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “He has lost my phone yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten meine Schlüssel verloren vor der Party.” — “We had lost my keys before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde das Spiel verlieren morgen.” — “I will lose the game tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst mein Handy verloren haben bis morgen.” — “You will have lost my phone by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er verliere meine Schlüssel.” — “It is important that he lose my keys.”
  8. “Ich verlöre das Spiel eines Tages.” — “I would lose the game one day.”
  9. “Er hätte mein Handy verloren gestern.” — “He would have lost my phone yesterday.”
  10. “Verlier meine Schlüssel!” — “Lose my keys!”

Common mistakes

1. 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 present form verliere.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich verlieren meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel.”

verlieren is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with verliere.

3. 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.

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich verliere meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich verliere meine Schlüssel.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use verliere here, not the indicative verliere.

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin verloren meine Schlüssel.”

✓ Right: “habe verloren meine Schlüssel.”

The Perfekt of verlieren is formed with haben plus the past participle verloren: the ich form is habe verloren. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich verlor meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.”

The preterite verlor describes a past action. For something you do every day, use the present verliere.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on verlieren. Choose the right form, 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 Preterite (Präteritum)?

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

  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 Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

    • A) hatte verloren
    • B) hattest verloren
    • C) hattet verloren
    • D) hatten 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 Future perfect (Futur II)?

    • A) wird verloren haben
    • B) werden verloren haben
    • C) werde verloren haben
    • D) wirst verloren haben

  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 Konjunktiv II?

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

  9. What is the present participle (Partizip I) of verlieren?

    • A) verlierend
    • B) beginnend
    • C) endend
    • D) öffnend

  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. D) verlorst — the du form of verlieren in the Preterite (Präteritum) is verlorst. 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) hatten verloren — the wir form of verlieren in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten 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) werde verloren haben — the ich form of verlieren in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde verloren haben. 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. C) verlöre — the ich form of verlieren in the Konjunktiv II is verlöre. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) verlierend — the present participle (Partizip I) of verlieren is verlierend. 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, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Partizip I is verlierend and Partizip II is verloren.

What are the participles of verlieren?

Partizip I is verlierend — use it as an adjective. Partizip II is verloren — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe verloren.

Which auxiliary does verlieren take in the Perfekt?

verlieren takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe verloren. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle verloren.

How do I say “I lose” in German?

Say “Ich verliere meine Schlüssel jeden Tag.” — “I lose my keys every day.” The ich form of the present is verliere, and it is the form you will use most often.

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