Ziehen Conjugation in German
ziehen means “to pull” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of ziehen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and ziehen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ziehen
- English: to pull
- Verb type: Strong verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): ziehend
- Past participle (Partizip II): gezogen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ziehen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
ziehen is a strong verb: its preterite (zog) and its past participle (gezogen) do not follow the weak -te pattern, so learn them as a set. The present tense itself keeps the plain stem in every person.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for ziehen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | ziehe |
| du | ziehst |
| er/sie/es | zieht |
| wir | ziehen |
| ihr | zieht |
| sie/Sie | ziehen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | zog |
| du | zogst |
| er/sie/es | zog |
| wir | zogen |
| ihr | zogt |
| sie/Sie | zogen |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe gezogen |
| du | hast gezogen |
| er/sie/es | hat gezogen |
| wir | haben gezogen |
| ihr | habt gezogen |
| sie/Sie | haben gezogen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte gezogen |
| du | hattest gezogen |
| er/sie/es | hatte gezogen |
| wir | hatten gezogen |
| ihr | hattet gezogen |
| sie/Sie | hatten gezogen |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde ziehen |
| du | wirst ziehen |
| er/sie/es | wird ziehen |
| wir | werden ziehen |
| ihr | werdet ziehen |
| sie/Sie | werden ziehen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde gezogen haben |
| du | wirst gezogen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird gezogen haben |
| wir | werden gezogen haben |
| ihr | werdet gezogen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden gezogen haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | ziehe |
| du | ziehest |
| er/sie/es | ziehe |
| wir | ziehen |
| ihr | ziehet |
| sie/Sie | ziehen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | zöge |
| du | zögest |
| er/sie/es | zöge |
| wir | zögen |
| ihr | zöget |
| sie/Sie | zögen |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte gezogen |
| du | hättest gezogen |
| er/sie/es | hätte gezogen |
| wir | hätten gezogen |
| ihr | hättet gezogen |
| sie/Sie | hätten gezogen |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | zieh |
| wir | ziehen |
| ihr | zieht |
| sie/Sie | ziehen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | ziehend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | gezogen |
| Infinitive | ziehen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With ziehen 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 ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With ziehen 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 zogst den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “You pulled the suitcase to the station.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With ziehen it is formed with haben + the past participle gezogen. For example: “Er hat den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “He has pulled the suitcase to the station.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “We had pulled the suitcase to the station.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehen.” — “You will pull the suitcase to the station.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen haben.” — “They will have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehe.” — “It is important that I pull the suitcase to the station.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du zögest den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “You would pull the suitcase to the station if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “He would have pulled the suitcase to the station if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With ziehen 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: “Zieh den Koffer zum Bahnhof!” — “Pull the suitcase to the station!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is ziehend — “while pulling” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is gezogen, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gezogen. The infinitive is ziehen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ziehen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Du ziehst den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “You pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Er zog den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “He pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “I have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Er hatte den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.” — “He had pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Wir werden den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehen.” — “We will pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich werde den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen haben.” — “I will have pulled the suitcase to the station.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehe.” — “It is important that I pull the suitcase to the station.”
- “Ich zöge den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I would pull the suitcase to the station if I could.”
- “Zieh den Koffer zum Bahnhof!” — “Pull the suitcase to the station!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehen den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
✓ Right: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
The infinitive ziehen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form ziehe.
2. Confusing ziehen with tragen
✗ Wrong: “Ich tragen den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
ziehen means “to pull”; tragen means “to carry”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to ziehen
✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehte den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” (a guessed regular preterite)
✓ Right: “Ich zog den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
ziehen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The preterite form for ich is zog, not what the regular -te endings would give — learn it as a set.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du den Koffer zum Bahnhof ziehest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use ziehest here, not the indicative ziehst.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe den Koffer zum Bahnhof gezogen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe gezogen), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) ziehe
- B) ziehen
- C) ziehst
- D) zieht
What is the er/sie/es form of ziehen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) ziehe
- B) ziehen
- C) zieht
- D) ziehst
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) zogen
- B) zogt
- C) zog
- D) zogst
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habt gezogen
- B) hast gezogen
- C) hat gezogen
- D) habe gezogen
What is the wir form of ziehen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gezogen
- B) hatte gezogen
- C) hattest gezogen
- D) hattet gezogen
What is the du form of ziehen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst ziehen
- B) werdet ziehen
- C) werden ziehen
- D) werde ziehen
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst gezogen haben
- B) werdet gezogen haben
- C) werde gezogen haben
- D) werden gezogen haben
What is the ich form of ziehen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) zögen
- B) zöge
- C) zögest
- D) zöget
What is the past participle of ziehen?
- A) ziehe
- B) gezogen
- C) zog
- D) ziehend
What does ziehen mean in English?
- A) to pull
- B) to do
- C) to carry
- D) to come
Answer key
- A) ziehe — the ich form of ziehen in the present tense is ziehe.
- C) zieht — the er/sie/es form of ziehen in the present tense is zieht.
- C) zog — the ich form of ziehen in the preterite is zog.
- D) habe gezogen — the ich form of ziehen in the Perfekt is habe gezogen.
- A) hatten gezogen — the wir form of ziehen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten gezogen.
- A) wirst ziehen — the du form of ziehen in the Futur I is wirst ziehen.
- C) werde gezogen haben — the ich form of ziehen in the Futur II is werde gezogen haben.
- B) zöge — the ich form of ziehen in the Konjunktiv II is zöge.
- B) gezogen — the past participle of ziehen is gezogen; perfect tenses use haben + gezogen.
- A) to pull — ziehen means “to pull” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does ziehen mean in English?
ziehen means “to pull”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” (“I pull the suitcase to the station.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is ziehen regular or irregular?
ziehen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is ziehend and the past participle is gezogen.
What are the participles of ziehen?
The present participle is ziehend and the past participle is gezogen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe gezogen.
What is the difference between ziehen and tragen?
ziehen means “to pull”, while tragen means “to carry”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for tragen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I pull” in German?
Say “Ich ziehe den Koffer zum Bahnhof.” — “I pull the suitcase to the station.” The ich form of the present is ziehe, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn ziehen
Start with the present tense: ziehe, ziehst, zieht, ziehen, zieht, ziehen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe gezogen — and the Präteritum — zog. Next, learn the future (werde ziehen) and the Konjunktiv II (zöge), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (ziehe) and the imperative (zieh). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- ziehen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the Perfekt tense.
- ziehen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise ziehen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise ziehen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.