Warten Conjugation in German

warten means “to wait” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 51 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You use it whenever you talk about waiting for the bus, 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 warten — 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 warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: warten
  • English: to wait
  • Verb type: Regular
  • Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
  • Pattern: weak
  • Separable: no
  • Participle I: wartend
  • Past participle (Partizip II): gewartet
  • 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 warten, 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 warten in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about warten

  1. It is regular: every form follows the ordinary weak pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
  2. The perfect tenses use haben: the perfect is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gewartet. 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 wartend and Partizip II is gewartet: 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 warten. 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 warte
du wartest
er/sie/es wartet
wir warten
ihr wartet
sie/Sie warten

The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Ich warte auf meine Freundin jeden Tag.” — “I wait for my girlfriend every day.”

Preterite (Präteritum)

Person Form
ich wartete
du wartetest
er/sie/es wartete
wir warteten
ihr wartetet
sie/Sie warteten

The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. For example: “Du wartetest auf meine Freundin gestern.” — “You waited for my girlfriend yesterday.”

Perfect (Perfekt)

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

The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. For example: “Er hat auf meine Freundin gewartet gestern.” — “He has waited for my girlfriend yesterday.”

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

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

The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten auf meine Freundin gewartet vor der Party.” — “We had waited for my girlfriend before the party.”

Future (Futur I)

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

The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Ich werde auf meine Freundin warten morgen.” — “I will wait for my girlfriend tomorrow.”

Future perfect (Futur II)

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

The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Du wirst auf meine Freundin gewartet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have waited for my girlfriend by tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv I

Person Form
ich warte
du wartest
er/sie/es warte
wir warten
ihr wartet
sie/Sie warten

Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass er warte auf meine Freundin.” — “It is important that he wait for my girlfriend.”

Konjunktiv II

Person Form
ich wartete
du wartetest
er/sie/es wartete
wir warteten
ihr wartetet
sie/Sie warteten

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 wartete auf meine Freundin eines Tages.” — “I would wait for my girlfriend one day.”

Conditional perfect

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

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte auf meine Freundin gewartet gestern.” — “He would have waited for my girlfriend yesterday.”

Imperative

Person Form
du warte
wir warten
ihr wartet
sie warten

The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Warte auf meine Freundin!” — “Wait for my girlfriend!”

Present participle (Partizip I)

Form German
Present participle wartend

The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective and for describing an action in progress. For example, the participle wartend describes something that is waiting. The present-tense sentence “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.” shows the same verb in action.

Past participle (Partizip II)

Form German
Past participle gewartet

The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe auf den Bus gewartet gestern.” — “I have waited for the bus yesterday.”

Infinitive

Form German
Infinitive warten

The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and in infinitive constructions. The infinitive warten 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 auf den Bus warten morgen.” — “I will wait for the bus tomorrow.”

Example sentences

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

  1. “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.”
  2. “Du wartetest auf meine Freundin gestern.” — “You waited for my girlfriend yesterday.”
  3. “Er hat auf den Zug gewartet gestern.” — “He has waited for the train yesterday.”
  4. “Wir hatten auf den Bus gewartet vor der Party.” — “We had waited for the bus before the party.”
  5. “Ich werde auf meine Freundin warten morgen.” — “I will wait for my girlfriend tomorrow.”
  6. “Du wirst auf den Zug gewartet haben bis morgen.” — “You will have waited for the train by tomorrow.”
  7. “Es ist wichtig, dass er warte auf den Bus.” — “It is important that he wait for the bus.”
  8. “Ich wartete auf meine Freundin eines Tages.” — “I would wait for my girlfriend one day.”
  9. “Er hätte auf den Zug gewartet gestern.” — “He would have waited for the train yesterday.”
  10. “Warte auf den Bus!” — “Wait for the bus!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich warten auf den Bus.”

✓ Right: “Ich warte auf den Bus.”

The infinitive warten never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form warte.

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Ich warten auf den Bus.”

✓ Right: “Ich warte auf den Bus.”

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

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich warte auf den Bus gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe auf den Bus gewartet gestern.”

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

4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich warte auf den Bus.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich warte auf den Bus.”

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

5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich bin gewartet auf den Bus.”

✓ Right: “habe gewartet auf den Bus.”

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

6. Using the preterite for a daily habit

✗ Wrong: “Ich wartete auf den Bus jeden Tag.”

✓ Right: “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) warten
    • B) warte
    • C) wartest
    • D) wartet

  2. What is the du form of warten in the Preterite (Präteritum)?

    • A) wartetet
    • B) wartetest
    • C) wartete
    • D) warteten

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

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

  4. What is the wir form of warten in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?

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

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

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

  6. What is the ich form of warten in the Future perfect (Futur II)?

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

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

    • A) wartet
    • B) warte
    • C) wartest
    • D) warten

  8. What is the ich form of warten in the Konjunktiv II?

    • A) wartete
    • B) wartetest
    • C) warteten
    • D) wartetet

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

    • A) ankommend
    • B) abfahrend
    • C) einsteigend
    • D) wartend

  10. What does warten mean in English?

  • A) to wait
  • B) to arrive
  • C) to depart
  • D) to get in

Answer key

  1. B) warte — the ich form of warten in the Present (Präsens) is warte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) wartetest — the du form of warten in the Preterite (Präteritum) is wartetest. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. A) hat gewartet — the er/sie/es form of warten in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gewartet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) hatten gewartet — the wir form of warten in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gewartet. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) wirst warten — the du form of warten in the Future (Futur I) is wirst warten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) werde gewartet haben — the ich form of warten in the Future perfect (Futur II) is werde gewartet haben. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) warte — the er/sie/es form of warten in the Konjunktiv I is warte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) wartete — the ich form of warten in the Konjunktiv II is wartete. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) wartend — the present participle (Partizip I) of warten is wartend. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to wait — warten means “to wait” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does warten mean in English?

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

Is warten regular or irregular?

warten is regular: it follows the ordinary weak pattern in every tense. Partizip I is wartend and Partizip II is gewartet.

What are the participles of warten?

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

Which auxiliary does warten take in the Perfekt?

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

How do I say “I wait” in German?

Say “Ich warte auf den Bus jeden Tag.” — “I wait for the bus every day.” The ich form of the present is warte, and it is the form you will use most often.

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