How to Conjugate the German Verb Trinken (to Drink)

The verb trinken is a strong (irregular) verb meaning "to drink." It is a very handy verb to know for traveling to German-speaking countries, or even just singing German drinking songs.

As an irregular verb, you can't predict how it is conjugated by a strict rule. You will need to study and memorize its forms. Note that its German principal parts follow the same i/a/u pattern of English (drink/drank/drunk). This is the ablaut Class 3a i - a - u pattern. It is shared with other strong verbs including binden (tie), dringen (press), finden (find) and singen (sing).

Principal Parts: trinken • trank • getrunken
Imperative (Commands): (du) Trink! | (ihr) Trinkt! | Trinken Sie!

Trinken - Present Tense - Präsens

Deutsch	English
Singular Present Tense
ich trinke	I drink I am drinking
du trinkst	you drink you are drinking
er trinkt sie trinkt es trinkt	he drinks he is drinking she drinks she is drinking it drinks it is drinking

Plural Present Tense
wir trinken	we drink we are drinking
ihr trinkt	you (guys) drink you (guys) are drinking
sie trinken	they drink they are drinking
Sie trinken	you drink you are drinking

Examples:

Er trinkt kein Bier. He doesn't drink beer.
Ich trinke lieber Wein. I prefer to drink wine.

Trinken - Simple Past Tense - Imperfekt

Deutsch	English
Singular Simple Past Tense
ich trank	I drank
du trankst	you drank
er trank sie trank es trank	he drank she drank it drank

Plural Simple Past Tense
wir tranken	we drank
ihr trankt	you (guys) drank
sie tranken	they drank
Sie tranken	you drank

Trinken - Compound Past Tense (Present Perfect) - Perfekt

Deutsch	English
Singular Compound Past Tense
ich habe getrunken	I have drunk I drank
du hast getrunken	you have drunk you drank
er hat getrunken sie hat getrunken es hat getrunken	he has drunk he drank she has drunk she drank it has drunk it drank

Plural Compound Past Tense
wir haben getrunken	we have drunk we drank
ihr habt getrunken	you (guys) have drunk you drank
sie haben getrunken	they have drunk they drank
Sie haben getrunken	you have drunk you drank

Trinken - Past Perfect Tense - Plusquamperfekt

Deutsch	English
Singular Past Perfect Tense
ich hatte getrunken	I had drunk
du hattest getrunken	you had drunk
er hatte getrunken sie hatte getrunken es hatte getrunken	he had drunk she had drunk it had drunk

Plural Past Perfect Tense
wir hatten getrunken	we had drunk
ihr hattet getrunken	you (guys) had drunk
sie hatten getrunken	they had drunk
Sie hatten getrunken	you had drunk

Example Using Trinken

Accusative: Was will er trinken? What does he want to drink?

Uses of the Root for Nouns

Knowing the different tenses of trinken, you can recognize how it is used in nouns for beverages.

Getränke: beverages or drinks
das Getränk beverage, drink
der Getränkemarkt: beverage shop. Here you buy beverages such as beer, cola, or mineral water by the case. Supermarkets now usually have a similar department.