The idea
Present tense: ich backe, du backst, er/sie/es backt, wir backen, ihr backt, sie/Sie backen. Learn the sentence pattern etwas backen together with the principal parts.
| Form | Deutsch |
|---|---|
| ich | backe |
| du | backst |
| er/sie/es | backt |
| wir | backen |
| ihr | backt |
| sie/Sie | backen |
| Präteritum | backte |
| Perfekt | hat gebacken |
| Imperativ (du) | Back! |
| Muster | etwas backen |
Meaning and sentence pattern
Backen has regular present variants backst/backt and also bäckst/bäckt. Backte is a common past form; buk also exists. The participle is gebacken.
Learn this pattern as a unit: etwas backen. The six situations below show the verb with concrete objects, complements or circumstances.
Form check
Ich habe gebackt.Ich habe gebacken.For baking food, use the participle gebacken; the present has both backst and bäckst variants.
Examples
- Ich backe das Brot in einer schweren Form.I bake the bread in a heavy tin.
- Du backst die Plätzchen auf der mittleren Schiene.You bake the biscuits on the middle shelf.
- Die Bäckerei backt nachts für den frühen Verkauf.The bakery bakes at night for early sales.
- Am Sonntag backte ich einen Zitronenkuchen.On Sunday I baked a lemon cake.
- Wir haben die Brötchen selbst gebacken.We baked the rolls ourselves.
- Back den Kuchen lieber fünf Minuten länger.Bake the cake for five minutes longer.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
For baking food, use the participle gebacken; the present has both backst and bäckst variants.
Try it yourself
du ___ (backen, Präsens)
Show answer or example answer
backst
backst: this is the second-person singular present form.
er/sie ___ (backen, Präteritum)
Show answer or example answer
backte
backte: this is the third-person singular simple past.
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Show answer or example answer
gebacken
gebacken: in this use the perfect tense is hat gebacken.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
du ___ (backen, Präsens)
er/sie ___ (backen, Präteritum)
Perfekt: er/sie hat ___
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account and carry on with the story in the game.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Read the six situations aloud, compare the verb forms, and complete the present, past and participle checks. Then write a new sentence that follows etwas backen.