How to Conjugate the German Word Fahren

Learn the Right Words to Discuss Traveling in German.

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Updated on January 27, 2019

One useful verb for any wanderer to learn is to travel. In German, the word fahren means to travel or to go. Learning to properly conjugate this word will help you tell your new friends all about your journey. If you're lost and looking for directions, you'll be thankful you know how to say "we're traveling to Berlin" when asking for help. In some cases fahren is also used to mean drive or have driven, this will usually be apparent from the context of the sentence.

Stem-Changing Verbs

German, like many other languages, has what is known as stem-changing verbs. This means that the stem or ending of the word is what changes based on who the action is referring to. These endings will remain consistent throughout the language for regular stem-changing verbs. Unlike in English, where I take and we take uses the same form of the verb in German the stems of the verb would change. This can make learning the language easier because you only need to remember the roots of most verbs. Unfortunately, nehmen is also an irregular verb. This means there are times when it does not follow the normal rules of stem-changing verbs.

Learn How Fahren is Conjugated in All Tenses

The following charts will show you how the German verb fahrenis conjugated in all its tenses and moods.

Fahren Present Tense - Präsens

Singular
Deutsch	English
ich fahre	I travel/am traveling
du fährst	you travel/are traveling
er sie fährt es	he she travels it

Plural
wir fahren	we travel/are traveling
ihr fahrt	you (guys) travel/are traveling
sie fahren	they travel/are traveling
Sie fahren	you travel/are traveling

Examples:

Fahren Sie heute nach Hamburg?
Are you going/traveling to Hamburg today?
Er fährt mit dem Zug.
He's taking the train.

Possible meanings of fahren: to travel, go, drive, ride, sail, take, move, transport

Fahren Simple Past Tense -Imperfekt

Singular
Deutsch	English
ich fuhr	I traveled
du fuhrst	you (fam.) traveled
er fuhr sie fuhr es fuhr	he traveled she traveled it traveled

Plural
wir fuhren	we traveled
ihr fuhrt	you (guys) traveled
sie fuhren	they traveled
Sie fuhren	you traveled

Fahren Compound Past Tense (Pres. Perfect) Perfekt

Deutsch	English
Singular
ich bin gefahren	I traveled/have traveled
du bist gefahren	you (fam.) traveled have traveled
er ist gefahren sie ist gefahren es ist gefahren	he traveled/has traveled she traveled/has traveled it traveled/has traveled

Plural
wir sind gefahren	we traveled/have traveled
ihr seid gefahren	you (guys) traveled have traveled
sie sind gefahren	they traveled/have traveled
Sie sind gefahren	you traveled/have traveled

See more verbs in our 20 Most-Used German Verbs.

Fahren Past Perfect Tense Plusquamperfekt

Deutsch	English
Singular
ich war gefahren	I had traveled
du warst gefahren	you (fam.) had traveled
er war gefahren sie war gefahren es war gefahren	he had traveled she had traveled it had traveled

Plural
wir waren gefahren	we had traveled
ihr wart gefahren	you (guys) had traveled
sie waren gefahren	they had traveled
Sie waren gefahren	you had traveled

See more verbs in our 20 Most-Used German Verbs.

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Your Citation

Flippo, Hyde. "How to Conjugate the German Word Fahren." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/fahren-to-travel-drive-go-present-tense-4081409. Flippo, Hyde. (2023, April 5). How to Conjugate the German Word Fahren. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/fahren-to-travel-drive-go-present-tense-4081409 Flippo, Hyde. "How to Conjugate the German Word Fahren." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/fahren-to-travel-drive-go-present-tense-4081409 (accessed June 8, 2023).