Weinen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German

Introduction

Weinen means “to cry”, 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 weinen, 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 weinen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.”
  2. “Du weinst wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “You cry because of the sad film every day.”
  3. “Ich habe aus Glück geweint gestern.” — “I have cried with happiness yesterday.”
  4. “Er weinte vor Freude gestern.” — “He cried with joy yesterday.”
  5. “Wir werden wegen des traurigen Films weinen morgen.” — “We will cry because of the sad film tomorrow.”
  6. “Du hast aus Glück geweint gestern.” — “You have cried with happiness yesterday.”
  7. “Ich weinte vor Freude eines Tages.” — “I would cry with joy one day.”
  8. “Es ist wichtig, dass er weine wegen des traurigen Films.” — “It is important that he cry because of the sad film.”
  9. “Wir hatten aus Glück geweint vor der Party.” — “We had cried with happiness before the party.”
  10. “Er wird vor Freude weinen morgen.” — “He will cry with joy tomorrow.”
  11. “Sie weinen wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “They cry because of the sad film every day.”
  12. “Wein aus Glück!” — “Cry with happiness!”

A short dialogue

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

Lena: “Du weinst vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “You cry with joy every day.” Jonas: “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.” Lena: “Du wirst wegen des traurigen Films weinen morgen.” — “You will cry because of the sad film tomorrow.” Jonas: “Ich werde wegen des traurigen Films weinen morgen.” — “I will cry because of the sad film tomorrow.” Lena: “Du hast aus Glück geweint gestern.” — “You have cried with happiness yesterday.” Jonas: “Ich habe aus Glück geweint gestern.” — “I have cried with happiness yesterday.” Lena: “Du weintest vor Freude eines Tages.” — “You would cry with joy one day.” Jonas: “Ich weinte vor Freude eines Tages.” — “I would cry with joy 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.

Weinen in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, weinen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is weine: “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.”

The preterite: the past in stories

In the preterite, weinen describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories. The er form is weinte: “Er weinte wegen des traurigen Films gestern.” — “He cried because of the sad film yesterday.”

The Perfekt: finished actions

In the Perfekt, weinen reports one finished action, built with haben plus the participle geweint. The ich form is habe geweint: “Ich habe aus Glück geweint gestern.” — “I have cried with happiness yesterday.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, weinen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden weinen: “Wir werden vor Freude weinen morgen.” — “We will cry with joy tomorrow.”

Konjunktiv II: what would happen

In Konjunktiv II, weinen 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 weintest: “Du weintest wegen des traurigen Films eines Tages.” — “You would cry because of the sad film one day.”

Konjunktiv I: reported speech

In Konjunktiv I, weinen appears in reported speech, after triggers such as es ist wichtig, dass. The form is weine, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich weine aus Glück.” — “It is important that I cry with happiness.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Ich weinen vor Freude.”

✓ Right: “Ich weine vor Freude.”

The infinitive weinen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form weine.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Du weine vor Freude.”

✓ Right: “Du weinst vor Freude.”

weine is the ich form. With du you need weinst. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Ich weine vor Freude gestern.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe vor Freude geweint gestern.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du weinst wegen des traurigen Films.”

✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du weinest wegen des traurigen Films.”

After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I: weinest, not the indicative weinst.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt

✗ Wrong: “Ich geweint vor Freude.”

✓ Right: “Ich habe vor Freude geweint.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) weine
    • B) weinst
    • C) weint
    • D) weinen

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

    • A) weint
    • B) weinen
    • C) weinst
    • D) weine

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

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

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

    • A) weintest
    • B) weintet
    • C) weinten
    • D) weinte

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

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

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

    • A) weinte
    • B) weintest
    • C) weinten
    • D) weintet

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

    • A) weine
    • B) weinest
    • C) weinen
    • D) weinet

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

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

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

    • A) geflüstert
    • B) geweint
    • C) gelächelt
    • D) geschrien

  10. What does weinen mean in English?

  • A) to smile
  • B) to shout
  • C) to whisper
  • D) to cry

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does weinen mean in English?

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

Is weinen regular or irregular?

weinen is regular in every tense. Partizip I is weinend and Partizip II is geweint.

How do I practise weinen every day?

Say one sentence with weinen 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 weine vor Freude jeden Tag.”, “Ich habe vor Freude geweint gestern.” and “Ich werde vor Freude weinen 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 weinen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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