Wachsen Conjugation in German
wachsen means “to grow” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of wachsen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” — “It grows fast in spring.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and wachsen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: wachsen
- English: to grow
- Verb type: Strong verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): wachsend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gewachsen
- Auxiliary: sein (all perfect tenses are formed with sein + the past participle)
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 is a strong verb with a vowel change in the present tense: the stem vowel changes from a → ä in the du and er/sie/es forms — wächst, wächst — while ich, wir, ihr and sie keep the plain stem. The preterite changes the stem again (wuchs), and the past participle is gewachsen.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for wachsen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wachse |
| du | wächst |
| er/sie/es | wächst |
| wir | wachsen |
| ihr | wachst |
| sie/Sie | wachsen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wuchs |
| du | wuchsest |
| er/sie/es | wuchs |
| wir | wuchsen |
| ihr | wuchst |
| sie/Sie | wuchsen |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | bin gewachsen |
| du | bist gewachsen |
| er/sie/es | ist gewachsen |
| wir | sind gewachsen |
| ihr | seid gewachsen |
| sie/Sie | sind gewachsen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | war gewachsen |
| du | warst gewachsen |
| er/sie/es | war gewachsen |
| wir | waren gewachsen |
| ihr | wart gewachsen |
| sie/Sie | waren gewachsen |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde wachsen |
| du | wirst wachsen |
| er/sie/es | wird wachsen |
| wir | werden wachsen |
| ihr | werdet wachsen |
| sie/Sie | werden wachsen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gewachsen sein |
| du | wirst gewachsen sein |
| er/sie/es | wird gewachsen sein |
| wir | werden gewachsen sein |
| ihr | werdet gewachsen sein |
| sie/Sie | werden gewachsen sein |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wachse |
| du | wachsest |
| er/sie/es | wachse |
| wir | wachsen |
| ihr | wachset |
| sie/Sie | wachsen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wüchse |
| du | wüchsest |
| er/sie/es | wüchse |
| wir | wüchsen |
| ihr | wüchset |
| sie/Sie | wüchsen |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wäre gewachsen |
| du | wärst gewachsen |
| er/sie/es | wäre gewachsen |
| wir | wären gewachsen |
| ihr | wärt gewachsen |
| sie/Sie | wären gewachsen |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | wachs |
| wir | wachsen |
| ihr | wachst |
| sie/Sie | wachsen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | wachsend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gewachsen |
| Infinitive | wachsen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With wachsen 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 wachse schnell im Frühling.” — “I grow fast in spring.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With wachsen 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 wuchsest schnell im Frühling.” — “You grew fast in spring.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With wachsen it is formed with sein + the past participle gewachsen. For example: “Er ist schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “It has grown fast in spring.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir waren schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “We had grown fast in spring.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet schnell im Frühling wachsen.” — “You will grow fast in spring.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden schnell im Frühling gewachsen sein.” — “They will have grown fast in spring.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich schnell im Frühling wachse.” — “It is important that I grow fast in spring.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du wüchsest schnell im Frühling.” — “You would grow fast in spring if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er wäre schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “It would have grown fast in spring if it had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With wachsen 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: “Wachs schnell im Frühling!” — “Grow fast in spring!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is wachsend — “while growing” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is gewachsen, used with sein for the perfect tenses, as in bin gewachsen. The infinitive is wachsen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with wachsen, covering different tenses and persons. 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 wuchs schnell im Frühling.” — “It grew fast in spring.”
- “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “I have grown fast in spring.”
- “Er war schnell im Frühling gewachsen.” — “It 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.”
- “Wachs schnell im Frühling!” — “Grow fast in spring!”
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 wachste schnell im Frühling.” (a guessed regular preterite)
✓ Right: “Ich wuchs schnell im Frühling.”
wachsen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The preterite form for ich is wuchs, not what the regular -te endings would give — learn it as a set.
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.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich wachse schnell im Frühling.”
✓ Right: “Ich bin schnell im Frühling gewachsen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (bin gewachsen), not the present.
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 ich form of wachsen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) wuchsest
- B) wuchsen
- C) wuchs
- D) wuchst
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) bist gewachsen
- B) seid gewachsen
- C) sind gewachsen
- D) bin gewachsen
What is the wir form of wachsen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) waren gewachsen
- B) war gewachsen
- C) warst gewachsen
- D) wart gewachsen
What is the du form of wachsen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werde wachsen
- B) werdet wachsen
- C) wirst wachsen
- D) wird wachsen
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gewachsen sein
- B) werden gewachsen sein
- C) werde gewachsen sein
- D) werdet gewachsen sein
What is the ich form of wachsen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) wüchsen
- B) wüchsest
- C) wüchset
- D) wüchse
What is the past participle of wachsen?
- A) wachse
- B) gewachsen
- C) wachsend
- D) wuchs
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.
- C) wuchs — the ich form of wachsen in the preterite is wuchs.
- D) bin gewachsen — the ich form of wachsen in the Perfekt is bin gewachsen.
- A) waren gewachsen — the wir form of wachsen in the Plusquamperfekt is waren gewachsen.
- C) wirst wachsen — the du form of wachsen in the Futur I is wirst wachsen.
- C) werde gewachsen sein — the ich form of wachsen in the Futur II is werde gewachsen sein.
- D) wüchse — the ich form of wachsen in the Konjunktiv II is wüchse.
- B) gewachsen — the past participle of wachsen is gewachsen; perfect tenses use sein + gewachsen.
- A) to grow — wachsen means “to grow” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does wachsen mean in English?
wachsen means “to grow”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” (“It grows fast in spring.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is wachsen regular or irregular?
wachsen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is wachsend and the past participle is gewachsen.
What are the participles of wachsen?
The present participle is wachsend and the past participle is gewachsen — use it with sein for the perfect tenses, as in bin gewachsen.
What is the difference between wachsen and sterben?
wachsen means “to grow”, while sterben means “to die”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for sterben and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I grow” in German?
Say “Er wächst schnell im Frühling.” — “It grows fast in spring.” The ich form of the present is wachse, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn wachsen
Start with the present tense: wachse, wächst, wächst, wachsen, wachst, wachsen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — bin gewachsen — and the Präteritum — wuchs. Next, learn the future (werde wachsen) and the Konjunktiv II (wüchse), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (wachse) and the imperative (wachs). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- wachsen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the Perfekt tense.
- wachsen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- 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.