German Irregular Verbs: Sein & Haben

The most important German verbs are irregular, and you need to know them in your sleep. In this lesson Luzi conjugates five irregular verbs in the present tense, sein, haben, sehen, lesen and sprechen, and shows you exactly where they are irregular.

sein (to be)

Sein is the most important verb in German, and it is completely irregular. You use it all the time in the present, and later in the Perfekt as well, so learn it first.

• Ich bin Lehrer. (I am a teacher)
• Sie ist verheiratet. (She is married)
• Sie sind Kinder. (They are children)

haben (to have)

Haben is just as important and also irregular. Learn it together with sein.

• Ich habe zwei Katzen. (I have two cats)
• Er hat Fieber. (He has a fever)
• Wir haben Deutschkurs. (We have German class)

Where Irregular Verbs Are Really Irregular

Here is the key pattern from the video. Most irregular verbs are only irregular in the second and third person singular, which means in the du form and the er/sie/es form. All the other forms (ich, wir, ihr, sie) are completely regular. The next three verbs show the pattern.

sehen, lesen and sprechen

The bold forms are the irregular ones: the vowel changes (e becomes ie or i). Everything else looks like a regular verb.

sehen

• Ich sehe einen Film. (I watch a movie)
• Er sieht eine Insel. (He sees an island)

lesen

• Ich lese Zeitung. (I read the newspaper)
• Sie liest nie Bücher. (She never reads books)
• Ihr lest bald ein Deutschbuch. (You will soon read a German book)

sprechen

The video admits that sprechen is a terrible verb, with the R and the CH all together, but it is also very important.

• Ich spreche Deutsch. (I speak German)
• Du sprichst ein bisschen Deutsch. (You speak a little German)
• Wir sprechen alle Englisch. (We all speak English)

Question of the Day

The video ends with a question that is difficult for beginners: Welche Sprachen sprichst du? (Which languages do you speak?) Try to answer it with a full sentence, for example Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch. That uses sprechen in the ich form.

What to Learn Next

If you are not sure about the endings of regular verbs yet, start with German present tense: pronouns and regular verbs. For more irregular verbs, continue with all A1 German irregular verbs and the top 10 most common German verbs. When you are ready for the past, watch haben and sein in the German simple past.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you conjugate sein in German?

Sein is completely irregular: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie sind.

How do you conjugate haben in German?

Haben is irregular in the du and er/sie/es forms: ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben.

Which forms are irregular in German irregular verbs?

In most irregular verbs, only the second and third person singular are irregular, which means the du form and the er/sie/es form. The other forms follow the regular pattern.

How do you conjugate sehen, lesen and sprechen?

Sehen: sehe, siehst, sieht, sehen, seht, sehen. Lesen: lese, liest, liest, lesen, lest, lesen. Sprechen: spreche, sprichst, spricht, sprechen, sprecht, sprechen.

How do you ask “Which languages do you speak?” in German?

Say Welche Sprachen sprichst du? You can answer with Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch.

Verbs like sein, haben and sprechen come up in every A1 chapter, and the best way to make them automatic is to hear and use them again and again. Our German A1 online course gives you exactly that, with short videos, worksheets and answers to your questions.