How to Conjugate the German Verb "Heissen" (to Call)

The German verb heissen means "to be named" or "to be called." It's a very common word and you will use it all the time to tell people your name or to ask someone else's name. There are other uses as well, which is why it's an important word to know and is often included in a beginner's vocabulary for German students.

As with all verbs, we need to conjugate heissen in order to say phrases such as the present tense "his name is" and the past tense "he was called." This lesson will show you how all of that is done.

An Introduction to the Verb Heissen

Before we begin with the heissen conjugates, there are a few things you should know about the verb.

First of all, as is common in the German language, the double-s of heissen is often replaced with the letter ß. This forms the word heißen. Both are the same word and have the same pronunciation, some people simply prefer to use German's unique letter.

Principal Parts: heißen - hieß - geheißen

Examples of heissen in a sentence:

• Wie heißen Sie? - What is your name?
• Was soll das heißen? - What is that supposed to mean? or What do you mean by that?

Imperative (Commands): (du) Heiße! - (ihr) Heißt! - Heißen Sie!

Heissen in the Present Tense (Präsens)

The verb heissen is a strong (irregular) verb. This means that it does not follow a regular pattern and you will have to memorize all of the conjugations.

In the present tense singular, it has only two forms: heiße (ich) and heißt (du, er/sie/es). However, as you see in the conjugation chart, the present tense plural is heißen in all but one instance.

While studying the present tense, you might also consider studying the verb mood Subjunctive I (der Konjunktiv).

Heissen in the Past Tenses (Vergangenheit)

The past tense forms hieß and geheißen are irregular. The following charts will guide you through the conjugations of heissen in the simple past tense (imperfekt), the present perfect past tense (perfekt), and the past perfect tense (plusquamperfekt).

At the same time, you might want to review or begin your studies of the German Subjunctive II. It will help your fluency in German if you understand how to form and when to use this common verb mood.

Heissen in the Simple Past Tense (Imperfekt)

The most basic form of the past tense in German is the simple past tense (imperfekt). This is how you will generally say things like "he was named" and it should be a top priority in your studies.

Heissen in the Compound Past Tense (Perfekt)

You will use the present perfect (perfekt) or compound past tense when the action of naming is somehow undefined. For instance, you may know that someone was called something, but you don't necessarily say when that was in the past. It's also used when the action is still taking place in the present moment: he was called and is still called.

Heissen in the Past Perfect Tense (Plusquamperfekt)

In the past perfect tense (pluquamperfekt), you will use heissen if someone was called something before another action took place. A good example of this may be when a woman gets married and takes her husband's last name: "Jane's name was Becker before she married Tom."