Learn the German Verbs 'Haben' (to Have) and 'Sein' (to Be)

These are two of the most important German verbs

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Updated on January 31, 2019

The two most important German verbs are haben (to have) and sein (to be). As in most languages, the verb "to be" is one of the oldest verbs in German, and therefore one of the most irregular. The verb "to have" is only slightly less irregular, but no less vital to surviving speaking German.

The Rules of 'Haben' in German

We'll start with haben. Look at the following table for the conjugation of haben in the present tense, along with sample sentences. Notice the strong resemblance to English for many forms of this verb, with most forms only one letter off from the English ( habe/have, hat/has). In the case of the familiar you (du), the German verb is identical to Old English: "thou hast" is "du hast."

Haben is also used in some German expressions that are translated with "to be" in English. For example:

Ich habe Hunger. (I'm hungry.)

Haben - To Have

Deutsch	English	Sample Sentences
Singular
ich habe	I have	Ich habe einen roten Wagen. (I have a red car.)
du hast	you (fam.) have	Du hast mein Buch. (You have my book.)
er hat	he has	Er hat ein blaues Auge. (He has a black eye.)
sie hat	she has	Sie hat blaue Augen. (She has blue eyes.)
es hat	it has	Es hat keine Fehler. (It has no flaws.)

Plural
wir haben	we have	Wir haben keine Zeit. (We have no time.)
ihr habt	you (guys) have	Habt ihr euer Geld? (Do y'all have your money?)
sie haben	they have	Sie haben kein Geld. (They have no money.)
Sie haben	you have	Haben Sie das Geld? (You, sir, have no money.) Note: Sie, formal "you," is both singular and plural.

To Be or Not to Be (Sein Oder Nicht Sein)

Look at the following table for the conjugation of sein (to be) in the present tense. Notice how similar the German and English forms are in the third person (ist/is).

Sein - To Be

Deutsch	English	Sample Sentences
Singular
ich bin	I am	Ich bin es. (It's me.)
du bist	you (fam.) are	Du bist mein Schatz. (You are my darling.)
er ist	he is	Er ist ein netter Kerl. (He is a nice guy.)
sie ist	she is	Ist sie da? (Is she here?)
es ist	it is	Es ist mein Buch. (It is my book.)

Plural
wir sind	we are	Wir sind das Volk. (We are the people/nation.) Note: This was the slogan of 1989 East German protests in Leipzig.
ihr seid	you (guys) are	Seid ihr unsere Freunde? (Are you guys our friends?)
sie sind	they are	Sie sind unsere Freunde. (They are our friends.)
Sie sind	you are	Sind Sie Herr Meier? (Are you, sir, Mr. Meier?) Note: Sie, formal "you," is both singular and plural.

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Flippo, Hyde. "Learn the German Verbs 'Haben' (to Have) and 'Sein' (to Be)." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/learning-german-verbs-haben-and-sein-4066934. Flippo, Hyde. (2020, August 27). Learn the German Verbs 'Haben' (to Have) and 'Sein' (to Be). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/learning-german-verbs-haben-and-sein-4066934 Flippo, Hyde. "Learn the German Verbs 'Haben' (to Have) and 'Sein' (to Be)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/learning-german-verbs-haben-and-sein-4066934 (accessed March 22, 2023).