trinken — to drink
- Infinitive: trinken
- Meaning: to drink
- Verb type: strong (irregular)
- Stem changes: trinken → trank (simple past), getrunken (past participle)
- Used for beverages and sometimes metaphorically (e.g., to absorb information)
Trinken is a strong (irregular) verb used for consuming liquids. Its stem changes in the past forms, reflecting its status among German’s essential drink-related verbs.
- Infinitive: trinken
- Present stem: trink-
- Simple past stem: trank-
- Past participle: getrunken (with "haben")
getrunken
Conjugation
Present (indicative)
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ich trinke | wir trinken |
| 2nd (informal) | du trinkst | ihr trinkt |
| 3rd | er/sie/es trinkt | sie trinken |
| Formal 2nd | Sie trinken |
- Present stem: trink-
- Used for current/future drinking
trinkt
Simple Past (Präteritum)
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ich trank | wir tranken |
| 2nd (informal) | du trankst | ihr trankt |
| 3rd | er/sie/es trank | sie tranken |
- Past stem: trank-
- Used mainly in writing, formal speech
trank, trankst, tranken
Present Perfect
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| All persons | haben + getrunken |
- Used for most spoken past situations
- Auxiliary: haben + getrunken
Examples:
- Ich trinke Wasser. (I drink water.)
- Wir trinken Kaffee. (We drink coffee.)
- Er trank Cola. (He drank cola.)
- Sie haben Saft getrunken. (They have drunk juice.)
'haben' is used for 'trinken' in perfect tense.
Full Conjugation Table
| Tense | Ich | Du | Er/Sie/Es | Wir | Ihr | Sie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | trinke | trinkst | trinkt | trinken | trinkt | trinken |
| Simple Past | trank | trankst | trank | tranken | trankt | tranken |
| Present Perfect | habe getrunken | hast getrunken | hat getrunken | haben getrunken | habt getrunken | haben getrunken |
trankst
correct: 'Ich trinke Wasser', 'Er trank Kaffee', 'Wir haben Bier getrunken'
Conclusion
Trinken is a vital strong verb for daily life, with core forms changing across tenses.
- Present: ich trinke / du trinkst / er trinkt ...
- Simple past: ich trank / du trankst / er trank ...
- Perfect: haben + getrunken
Mastering trinken’s patterns helps with many other important German verbs!