Wachsen Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
How do you actually use wachsen — “to grow” — in a real sentence? This page shows you: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue, the mistakes learners make most often with this verb, and a quiz to test yourself. Every German form on this page comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for wachsen. Start with the simplest sentence: “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” — “It grows fast in spring.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for wachsen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Wachsen in real sentences
Twelve sentences with wachsen, covering the present, the Präteritum, the Perfekt, the Plusquamperfekt, the future, Konjunktiv I and II, and the imperative. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.” — “I grow fast in spring.”
- “Du wächst schnell im Frühling.” — “You grow fast in spring.”
- “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” — “It grows fast in spring.”
- “Ich wuchs schnell im Frühling.” — “I grew fast in spring.”
- “Wir wuchsen schnell im Frühling.” — “We grew fast in spring.”
- “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I have grown fast in spring.”
- “Du bist schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “You have grown fast in spring.”
- “Ich war schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I had grown fast in spring.”
- “Wir werden schnell im Frühling wachsen.” — “We will grow fast in spring.”
- “Ich werde schnell im Frühling gewachsen sein.” — “I will have grown fast in spring.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schnell im Frühling wachse.” — “It is important that I grow fast in spring.”
- “Ich wüchse schnell im Frühling.” — “I would grow fast in spring if I could.”
- “Ich wäre schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I would have grown fast in spring if I had been able to.”
- “Wachs schnell im Frühling!” — “Grow fast in spring!”
A short dialogue with wachsen
Anna and Ben talk about their plans. Every form of wachsen in the dialogue comes from the verified tables — read it aloud, changing the person each time.
Anna: “Du wächst schnell im Frühling?” — “You grow fast in spring?”
Ben: “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.” — “I grow fast in spring.”
Anna: “Du bist schnell im Frühling gewachsen?” — “You have grown fast in spring?”
Ben: “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I have grown fast in spring.”
Anna: “Du wirst schnell im Frühling wachsen?” — “You will grow fast in spring?”
Ben: “Ich werde schnell im Frühling wachsen.” — “I will grow fast in spring.”
Anna: “Wachs schnell im Frühling!” — “Grow fast in spring!”
Ben: “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.” — “I grow fast in spring.”
Notice how the verb changes with the person and the tense while the meaning stays the same: wachse, wächst, bin gewachsen, werde wachsen. If you can follow this dialogue without looking at the tables, you know wachsen well enough to use it.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich wachsen schnell im Frühling.”
✓ Right: “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.”
The infinitive wachsen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form wachse.
2. Confusing wachsen with sterben
✗ Wrong: “Ich sterben schnell im Frühling.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.”
wachsen means “to grow”; sterben means “to die”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to wachsen
✗ Wrong: “Ich habe schnell im Frühling gewachst.” (a guessed regular participle)
✓ Right: “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.”
wachsen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. Its past participle is gewachsen, not the regular ge- + stem + -t form.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schnell im Frühling wächst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du schnell im Frühling wachsest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use wachsest here, not the indicative wächst.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) wachsen
- B) wächst
- C) wachse
- D) wachst
What is the er/sie/es form of wachsen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) wachse
- B) wächst
- C) wachsen
- D) wachst
What is the du form of wachsen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) wuchsest
- B) wuchst
- C) wuchs
- D) wuchsen
What is the wir form of wachsen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) sind gewachsen
- B) ist gewachsen
- C) seid gewachsen
- D) bin gewachsen
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird wachsen
- B) werden wachsen
- C) werdet wachsen
- D) werde wachsen
What is the du form of wachsen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) wüchset
- B) wüchsen
- C) wüchse
- D) wüchsest
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Conditional perfect?
- A) wärst gewachsen
- B) wären gewachsen
- C) wäre gewachsen
- D) wärt gewachsen
What is the past participle of wachsen?
- A) wachse
- B) wuchs
- C) wachsend
- D) gewachsen
What is the present participle of wachsen?
- A) wachsend
- B) gewachsen
- C) wachse
- D) werde wachsen
What does wachsen mean in English?
- A) to grow
- B) to do
- C) to die
- D) to come
Answer key
- C) wachse — the ich form of wachsen in the present tense is wachse.
- B) wächst — the er/sie/es form of wachsen in the present tense is wächst.
- A) wuchsest — the du form of wachsen in the preterite is wuchsest.
- A) sind gewachsen — the wir form of wachsen in the Perfekt is sind gewachsen.
- D) werde wachsen — the ich form of wachsen in the Futur I is werde wachsen.
- D) wüchsest — the du form of wachsen in the Konjunktiv II is wüchsest.
- C) wäre gewachsen — the ich form of wachsen in the conditional perfect is wäre gewachsen.
- D) gewachsen — the past participle of wachsen is gewachsen; perfect tenses use sein + gewachsen.
- A) wachsend — the present participle of wachsen is wachsend.
- A) to grow — wachsen means “to grow” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does wachsen mean in English?
wachsen means “to grow”. The examples above show it in everyday situations — for example, “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” (“It grows fast in spring.”).
Is wachsen regular or irregular?
wachsen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The full tables are on the conjugation page.
How do I use wachsen in the Perfekt?
Use sein + the past participle gewachsen: “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I have grown fast in spring.” The full Perfekt table is on the wachsen in the Perfekt tense page.
Related pages
- wachsen conjugation — the full conjugation tables for this verb in every tense.
- wachsen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in one tense.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise wachsen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise wachsen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.