Wollen Conjugation in German
wollen means “to want” in English, and it is one of the first verbs German learners meet — it sits at number 7 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for German verbs. You will meet it in everyday sentences such as “Ich will einen Kaffee.” — “I want to a coffee.” — 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 wollen — every tense, every person, the present participle and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: wollen
- English: to want
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle
- Present participle (Partizip I): wollend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gewollt
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Pattern: weak in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for wollen, 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 wollen in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about wollen
- It is irregular in 11 tense(s): present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future-perfect, konjunktiv-1, konjunktiv-2, conditional-perfect, imperative, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use haben: the Perfekt is formed with haben in the present plus the past participle gewollt. The tables on this page give the participle in the form exactly as it appears in the verified dump; the participle itself does not change for person, only the auxiliary does.
- The participles are wollend and gewollt: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
- Modal verbs have no du-imperative: the verified tables give no du form for wollen — the du cell is marked with a dash — so do not invent one. To give an instruction, use the present tense instead, for example “Du willst einen Kaffee.”
- Ersatzinfinitiv in the perfect: when wollen stands with another verb in a perfect tense, the infinitive replaces the past participle — the Ersatzinfinitiv. The table below gives the main-verb perfect habe gewollt, but with a dependent infinitive you say “Ich habe in den Urlaub fahren wollen.” — “I have wanted to go on holiday.” This is a usage note, not a separate tense: the participle gewollt is still the form the table lists.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for wollen. 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 | will |
| du | willst |
| er/sie/es | will |
| wir | wollen |
| ihr | wollt |
| sie/Sie | wollen |
The present (Präsens) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With wollen 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 will in den Urlaub fahren.” — “I want to go on holiday.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wollte |
| du | wolltest |
| er/sie/es | wollte |
| wir | wollten |
| ihr | wolltet |
| sie/Sie | wollten |
The preterite (Präteritum) is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written German and in stories. With wollen 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 wolltest in den Urlaub fahren.” — “You wanted to go on holiday.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gewollt |
| du | hast gewollt |
| er/sie/es | hat gewollt |
| wir | haben gewollt |
| ihr | habt gewollt |
| sie/Sie | haben gewollt |
The perfect (Perfekt) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. The table gives the main-verb perfect, built with haben plus the participle gewollt. When wollen stands with a dependent infinitive, the Ersatzinfinitiv replaces the participle: “Ich habe in den Urlaub fahren wollen.” — “I have wanted to go on holiday.” For example, the ich form in the table is habe gewollt.
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gewollt |
| du | hattest gewollt |
| er/sie/es | hatte gewollt |
| wir | hatten gewollt |
| ihr | hattet gewollt |
| sie/Sie | hatten gewollt |
The pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is used for an action completed before another past action. With wollen 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 hatte es gewollt.” — “I had wanted to it.”
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde wollen |
| du | wirst wollen |
| er/sie/es | wird wollen |
| wir | werden wollen |
| ihr | werdet wollen |
| sie/Sie | werden wollen |
The future (Futur I) is used for what will happen, for predictions and for intentions. With wollen 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 werde es wollen.” — “I will want to it.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gewollt haben |
| du | wirst gewollt haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gewollt haben |
| wir | werden gewollt haben |
| ihr | werdet gewollt haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gewollt haben |
The future perfect (Futur II) is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With wollen 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 wirst es gewollt haben.” — “You will have wanted to it.”
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wolle |
| du | wollest |
| er/sie/es | wolle |
| wir | wollen |
| ihr | wollet |
| sie/Sie | wollen |
Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech — reporting what someone else said — and in formal written German. With wollen 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: “Er wolle in den Urlaub fahren.” — “He wants to go on holiday.”
Konjunktiv II (conditional)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | wollte |
| du | wolltest |
| er/sie/es | wollte |
| wir | wollten |
| ihr | wolltet |
| sie/Sie | wollten |
Konjunktiv II is used for hypothetical situations, wishes and polite requests. It doubles as the German conditional: there is no separate conditional tense, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not an engine tense. With wollen 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 wollte in den Urlaub fahren.” — “I would want to go on holiday.”
Conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + participle)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gewollt |
| du | hättest gewollt |
| er/sie/es | hätte gewollt |
| wir | hätten gewollt |
| ihr | hättet gewollt |
| sie/Sie | hätten gewollt |
The conditional perfect (Konjunktiv II + past participle) is used for what would have happened in a different past. With wollen 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: “Er hätte es gewollt.” — “He would have wanted to it.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | — |
| wir | wollen |
| ihr | wollt |
| sie/Sie | wollen |
The imperative (Imperativ) is used for direct commands, requests and instructions. The verified tables give no imperative form for wollen in the du person — the cell is marked with a dash — because modal verbs have no du-imperative in the dump. Do not invent one: to give an instruction with wollen, German speakers use the present tense instead, for example “Du willst einen Kaffee.” — “You want to a coffee.” The wir, ihr and sie forms in the table are given exactly as the dump lists them.
Present participle (Partizip I)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | wollend |
The present participle (Partizip I) is used as an adjective or adverb, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle wollend is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle (Partizip II)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gewollt |
The past participle (Partizip II) is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Ich habe es gewollt.” — “I have wanted to it.”
Infinitive (Infinitiv)
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | wollen |
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb, used after modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive. The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb: it is the form you look up, and the form that follows modal verbs and other verbs that take an infinitive.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with wollen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich will einen Kaffee.” — “I want to a coffee.”
- “Du wolltest in den Urlaub fahren.” — “You wanted to go on holiday.”
- “Er hat es gewollt.” — “He has wanted to it.”
- “Ich werde es wollen.” — “I will want to it.”
- “Du wolltest in den Urlaub fahren.” — “You would want to go on holiday.”
- “Ich hatte es gewollt.” — “I had wanted to it.”
- “Du wirst es gewollt haben.” — “You will have wanted to it.”
- “Er wolle Deutsch lernen.” — “He wants to learn German.”
- “Ich hätte es gewollt.” — “I would have wanted to it.”
- “Du willst einen Kaffee.” — “You want to a coffee.”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich wollen einen Kaffee.”
✓ Right: “Ich will einen Kaffee.”
The infinitive wollen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form will.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Ich wollen einen Kaffee.”
✓ Right: “Ich will einen Kaffee.”
wollen is the sie form, not the ich form. Match the verb to the subject every time: ich goes with will.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich will einen Kaffee gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gewollt.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gewollt, not the present.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich bin einen Kaffee gewollt.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gewollt.”
The Perfekt of wollen is formed with haben plus the past participle gewollt: the ich form is habe gewollt. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the preterite where spoken German prefers the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich wollte einen Kaffee gestern.” (in everyday speech)
✓ Right: “Ich habe es gewollt.”
In everyday spoken German the Perfekt habe gewollt is the usual past tense. The preterite wollte is correct in writing and in stories, but it sounds formal in conversation.
6. Inventing a du-imperative for a modal verb
✗ Wrong: “Kann einen Kaffee!” (invented du-imperative)
✓ Right: “Du willst einen Kaffee.”
Modal verbs have no du-imperative in the verified tables — the du cell is a dash, not a form. Use the present tense willst to tell someone what they can or must do.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on wollen. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of wollen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) will
- B) willst
- C) wollen
- D) wollt
What is the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) wolltet
- B) wollte
- C) wolltest
- D) wollten
What is the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) haben gewollt
- B) hat gewollt
- C) habe gewollt
- D) hast gewollt
What is the du form of wollen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wird wollen
- B) werden wollen
- C) wirst wollen
- D) werde wollen
What is the ich form of wollen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) wolltet
- B) wollte
- C) wolltest
- D) wollten
What is the wir form of wollen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattest gewollt
- B) hattet gewollt
- C) hatten gewollt
- D) hatte gewollt
What is the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) wollet
- B) wolle
- C) wollest
- D) wollen
What is the ihr form of wollen in the Imperative (Imperativ)?
- A) wolltet
- B) habt gewollt
- C) wollt
- D) wollen
What is the past participle of wollen?
- A) gemocht
- B) gewusst
- C) gewollt
- D) gedurft
What does wollen mean in English?
- A) to be allowed to
- B) to like
- C) to know
- D) to want
Answer key
- A) will — the ich form of wollen in the Present (Präsens) is will. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wollte — the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is wollte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) hat gewollt — the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gewollt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wirst wollen — the du form of wollen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst wollen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wollte — the ich form of wollen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is wollte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatten gewollt — the wir form of wollen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatten gewollt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) wolle — the er/sie/es form of wollen in the Konjunktiv I is wolle. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) wollt — the ihr form of wollen in the Imperative (Imperativ) is wollt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) gewollt — the past participle of wollen is gewollt; it is used with haben in the perfect tenses. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) to want — wollen means “to want” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does wollen mean in English?
wollen means “to want”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is wollen regular or irregular?
wollen is irregular, and it 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 wollend and the past participle is gewollt.
What are the participles of wollen?
The present participle (Partizip I) is wollend — use it as an adjective for an ongoing action. The past participle (Partizip II) is gewollt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gewollt.
Which auxiliary does wollen take in the Perfekt?
wollen takes haben in the Perfekt: the ich form is habe gewollt. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with haben plus the past participle gewollt.
Does German have a separate conditional tense?
No. Konjunktiv II doubles as the conditional: the ich form wollte is the form you use for “would” meanings, and the periphrastic alternative with würde + infinitive is not a separate engine tense. The conditional perfect hätte gewollt covers “would have” meanings.
How do I say “I want to a coffee” in German?
Say “Ich will einen Kaffee.” — “I want to a coffee.” The ich form of the present is will, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of wollen — every tense of wollen in one place.
- Wollen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Wollen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Dürfen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Mögen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Wissen 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 Conjugator — practise wollen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise wollen with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise wollen with the interactive tool.