Wissen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Wissen means “to know”, 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 wissen, 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 wissen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich weiß die Antwort.” — “I know the answer.”
- “Du weißt sehr gut Deutsch.” — “You know German very well.”
- “Ich habe viel über Berlin gewusst.” — “I have known a lot about Berlin.”
- “Er wusste die Antwort.” — “He knew the answer.”
- “Wir werden sehr gut Deutsch wissen.” — “We will know German very well.”
- “Du hast viel über Berlin gewusst.” — “You have known a lot about Berlin.”
- “Ich wüsste die Antwort.” — “I would know the answer.”
- “Er wisse sehr gut Deutsch.” — “He knows German very well.”
- “Wir hatten viel über Berlin gewusst.” — “We had known a lot about Berlin.”
- “Er wird die Antwort wissen.” — “He will know the answer.”
- “Sie wissen sehr gut Deutsch.” — “They know German very well.”
- “Wisse viel über Berlin!” — “Know a lot about Berlin!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about the answer. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how wissen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of wissen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Weißt du die Antwort?” — “You know the answer?” Jonas: “Ich weiß die Antwort.” — “I know the answer.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde sehr gut Deutsch wissen.” — “I will know German very well.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe viel über Berlin gewusst.” — “I have known a lot about Berlin.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich wüsste die Antwort.” — “I would know the answer.”
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.
Wissen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of wissen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, wissen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is weiß: “Ich weiß die Antwort.” — “I know the answer.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, wissen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is wusste: “Er wusste sehr gut Deutsch.” — “He knew German very well.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, wissen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gewusst. The ich form is habe gewusst: “Ich habe viel über Berlin gewusst.” — “I have known a lot about Berlin.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, wissen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden wissen: “Wir werden die Antwort wissen.” — “We will know the answer.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, wissen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is wüsstest: “Du wüsstest sehr gut Deutsch.” — “You would know German very well.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, wissen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is wisse: “Er wisse viel über Berlin.” — “He knows a lot about Berlin.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich wissen die Antwort.”
✓ Right: “Ich weiß die Antwort.”
The infinitive wissen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form weiß.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du weiß die Antwort.”
✓ Right: “Du weißt die Antwort.”
weiß is the ich form. With du you need weißt. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich weiß die Antwort gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Antwort gewusst.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gewusst, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich weiß die Antwort.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich wisse die Antwort.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: wisse, not the indicative weiß.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gewusst die Antwort.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe die Antwort gewusst.”
The Perfekt of wissen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gewusst: the full ich form is habe gewusst.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on wissen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of wissen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) weiß
- B) weißt
- C) wissen
- D) wisst
What is the du form of wissen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) weißt
- B) weiß
- C) wissen
- D) wisst
What is the er/sie/es form of wissen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben gewusst
- B) hat gewusst
- C) habe gewusst
- D) hast gewusst
What is the wir form of wissen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) wusste
- B) wusstest
- C) wusstet
- D) wussten
What is the du form of wissen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird wissen
- B) werden wissen
- C) wirst wissen
- D) werde wissen
What is the ich form of wissen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) wüssten
- B) wüsstet
- C) wüsste
- D) wüsstest
What is the er/sie/es form of wissen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) wisset
- B) wisse
- C) wissest
- D) wissen
What is the ich form of wissen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte gewusst
- B) hattest gewusst
- C) hatten gewusst
- D) hattet gewusst
What is the past participle of wissen?
- A) gekommen
- B) gesagt
- C) gewusst
- D) gegangen
What does wissen mean in English?
- A) to come
- B) to say
- C) to know
- D) to go
Answer key
- A) weiß — the ich form of wissen in the Present (Präsens) is weiß. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) weißt — the du form of wissen in the Present (Präsens) is weißt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hat gewusst — the er/sie/es form of wissen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gewusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) wussten — the wir form of wissen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is wussten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wirst wissen — the du form of wissen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst wissen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wüsste — the ich form of wissen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is wüsste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wisse — the er/sie/es form of wissen in the Konjunktiv I is wisse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hatte gewusst — the ich form of wissen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gewusst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) gewusst — the past participle of wissen is gewusst. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to know — wissen means “to know” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does wissen mean in English?
wissen means “to know”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is wissen regular or irregular?
wissen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. The present participle is wissend and the past participle is gewusst.
How do I practise wissen every day?
Say one sentence with wissen 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 weiß die Antwort.”, “Ich habe die Antwort gewusst.” and “Ich werde die Antwort wissen.”. 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 wissen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of wissen — every tense of wissen in one place.
- Wissen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Wissen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Gehen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Kommen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Sagen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise wissen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise wissen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise wissen with the interactive tool.