Weinen in the Present Tense in German

Introduction

Weinen means “to cry”, and this page covers exactly one thing: weinen in the present tense. The present is the tense German speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for weinen, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the preterite, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about weinen in the present. For example: “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of weinen exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Weinen in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
ich weine
du weinst
er/sie/es weint
wir weinen
ihr weint
sie/Sie weinen

Partizip I: weinend · Partizip II: geweint

The present participle is weinend, which you use as an adjective. The past participle is geweint, which you use with haben in the perfect tenses: the ich form of the Perfekt is habe geweint, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the Präsens is only one part of how weinen is used.

How the Präsens of weinen is formed

The present of weinen follows the regular weak pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich weine, du weinst, er/sie/es weint, wir weinen, ihr weint, sie/Sie weinen. The wir and ihr forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the preterite and Konjunktiv II are built from the same family of forms, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. Partizip I weinend and Partizip II geweint belong to the same family — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise weinen in every tense.

When to use the Präsens of weinen

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use weinen in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Crying with joy — the everyday use

Weinen is the verb for crying with joy. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.”

2. Crying because of the sad film — a second everyday use

Weinen also covers crying because of the sad film. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Du weinst wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “You cry because of the sad film every day.”

3. Crying with happiness — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use weinen for crying with happiness. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Er weint aus Glück jeden Tag.” — “He cries with happiness every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and weinen is no exception. Use time expressions such as jeden Tag, immer or jede Woche to make the routine explicit. Example: “Wir weinen vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “We cry with joy every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. German often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with weinen in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Ihr weint wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “You cry because of the sad film every day.”

Present Tense vs Preterite: how to choose

The closest tense to the Präsens is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing and stories, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the Präsens sentences use words such as jeden Tag or gestern, while the preterite sentences belong to a story told in the past. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Ich weinte vor Freude gestern.” — “I cried with joy yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Du weinst wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “You cry because of the sad film every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Du weintest wegen des traurigen Films gestern.” — “You cried because of the sad film yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Wir weinen aus Glück jeden Tag.” — “We cry with happiness every day.”

  • Preterite (Präteritum): “Wir weinten aus Glück gestern.” — “We cried with happiness yesterday.”

  • The Präsens sentence is about the present moment or one finished action in speech; the preterite sentence is about the past as it is told in writing. That difference — now or finished in speech versus told in a story — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: weinen in the Präsens

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Ich weine wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “I cry because of the sad film every day.”

  2. “Du weinst aus Glück jeden Tag.” — “You cry with happiness every day.”

  3. “Er weint vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “He cries with joy every day.”

  4. “Wir weinen wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “We cry because of the sad film every day.”

  5. “Ihr weint aus Glück jeden Tag.” — “You cry with happiness every day.”

  6. “Sie weinen vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “They cry with joy every day.”

  7. “Ich weine wegen des traurigen Films jeden Tag.” — “I cry because of the sad film every day.”

  8. “Du weinst aus Glück jeden Tag.” — “You cry with happiness every day.”

Common mistakes with weinen in the Präsens

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Ich weinen vor Freude.” Right: “Ich weine vor Freude.” Why: The ich form is weine, not weinen. Weinen belongs with sie. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Wir weinen vor Freude.” Right: “Wir weinen vor Freude.” Why: Wir keeps its own form: weinen, not weinen. Learn wir and ihr as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Ich weinen vor Freude.” (with the infinitive) Right: “Ich weine vor Freude.” Why: The infinitive weinen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form weine.

  • Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich weine vor Freude.” Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich weine vor Freude.” Why: After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use weine here, not the indicative weine.

Quiz: weinen in the Präsens

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Ich ______ wegen des traurigen Films.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Du ______ aus Glück.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Er ______ vor Freude.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Wir ______ wegen des traurigen Films.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Ihr ______ aus Glück.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Sie ______ vor Freude.”

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

7. What does weinen mean in English?

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. A) weine — The ich form is weine.
  2. C) weinst — The du form is weinst.
  3. B) weint — The er/sie/es form is weint.
  4. C) weinen — The wir form is weinen.
  5. B) weint — The ihr form is weint.
  6. C) weinen — The sie/Sie form is weinen.
  7. D) to cry — weinen means “to cry”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) geweint — The past participle of weinen is geweint; the Präsens is formed with haben + geweint.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of weinen formed?

The present of weinen is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving ich weine, du weinst, er weint, wir weinen, ihr weint, sie weinen.

When do I use the present of weinen?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” — “I cry with joy every day.” For a finished past action, use the Perfekt instead.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of weinen?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the preterite describes a completed past action, mostly in writing. Compare “Ich weine vor Freude jeden Tag.” with “Ich weinte vor Freude gestern.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it is told in a story.

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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