to be (identity, state, description)
The default linking verb — who/what something is, and what it is like.
Ich bin müde.
I am tired.
Das ist mein Freund.
This is my friend.
#2 · Verb · VERB
In German, sein means “to be (identity, state, description)”. It’s the #2 most frequently used German word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
The most important and most irregular German verb, "to be". You need it constantly — for identity, states, and location — and it is also the auxiliary that forms the Perfekt of motion and change-of-state verbs (ich bin gegangen).
neutralThe default linking verb — who/what something is, and what it is like.
I am tired.
This is my friend.
Where something is.
Where are you?
The book is on the table.
Forms the spoken past of verbs of motion / change of state: gehen, kommen, fahren, werden, bleiben.
I went home.
He has grown old.
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken German. The top 4 forms cover about 81% of everyday use — learn these first.
| Tense | ich | du | er/sie/es | wir | ihr | sie/Sie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Präsens | bin | bist | ist | sind | seid | sind |
| Präteritum | war | warst | war | waren | wart | waren |
| Perfekt | bin gewesen | bist gewesen | ist gewesen | sind gewesen | seid gewesen | sind gewesen |
| Konjunktiv II | wäre | wärst | wäre | wären | wärt | wären |
| Imperativ | - | sei | - | seien wir | seid | seien Sie |
Ich bin Student.
I am a student.
bin - present, 1st person — note bin, not "bin ein"
Gestern war ich krank.
Yesterday I was ill.
war - Präteritum — sein is one of the few verbs used in the simple past in speech
Wir sind spät angekommen.
We arrived late.
sind angekommen - Perfekt with sein (motion verb)
Wenn ich reich wäre …
If I were rich …
wäre - Konjunktiv II — hypothetical
Looks like “his / its” — actually means the verb "to be" (infinitive) — but "sein" is ALSO the possessive "his/its"
Same spelling, two words: "sein Auto" = his car; "Auto sein" = to be a car. Tell them apart by position and the words around them.
| gewesen | been (used in the Perfekt) | past participle |
|---|---|---|
| das Sein | being, existence (philosophical) | nominalization |
sein is wildly irregular — chant the present out loud: bin, bist, ist, sind, seid, sind. Its Perfekt takes sein: "ich bin gewesen", never "habe gewesen".