German “wissen” in the Present Tense

In Brief

Use wissen when knowing means having a fact or piece of information: Ich weiß die Antwort (“I know the answer”). Its present-tense forms are ich weiß, du weißt, er/sie/es weiß, wir wissen, ihr wisst, sie/Sie wissen. For familiarity with a person, place, or thing, German normally uses kennen instead.

Overview

Wissen means “to know” in the sense of possessing information. It is the verb you need for facts, answers, and knowledge of what, where, when, why, or how something is the case. At A1 level, it lets you form immediately useful sentences such as Ich weiß es nicht (“I don’t know”) and questions such as Weißt du, wo der Bahnhof ist? (“Do you know where the station is?”).

The verb is irregular. That means its forms do not all follow the ordinary present-tense pattern you see in a verb such as lernen: ich lerne, du lernst, er lernt. In the singular of wissen, the vowel changes and the usual endings are partly absent: ich weiß, du weißt, sie weiß. The plural forms are closer to what you might expect: wir wissen, ihr wisst, sie wissen.

English-speaking learners also have a choice to make that English usually hides. English “know” can mean either “have information” or “be familiar with.” German generally separates these meanings: wissen is for information, while kennen is for familiarity. Learning that distinction alongside the conjugation will make your German sound much more natural.

How It Works

The complete present-tense conjugation

A conjugation is the set of forms a verb takes for different subjects (the person or thing the sentence is about).

Person	Subject	Form	Basic translation
first-person singular	ich	weiß	I know
second-person singular, informal	du	weißt	you know
third-person singular	er / sie / es	weiß	he / she / it knows
first-person plural	wir	wissen	we know
second-person plural, informal	ihr	wisst	you all know
third-person plural	sie	wissen	they know
formal address, singular or plural	Sie	wissen	you know

For a beginner, the most efficient memory pattern is:

• singular: weiß — weißt — weiß
• plural: wissen — wisst — wissen
• formal Sie: wissen

Notice that ich and er/sie/es use exactly the same verb form. Unlike a regular verb, there is no -e in ich weiß and no -t in er weiß. Only the du form adds -t to weiß-.

Spelling and pronunciation

The singular forms use ei, pronounced like the vowel in English “eye,” not like English “ee.” They also use ß in standard spelling:

• ich weiß
• du weißt
• er weiß

The ß is not the letter B; it represents an s sound. The forms based on the infinitive keep i and write ss: wissen, wisst. The contrast between weiß and wissen belongs to the verb itself, so it is best to learn the forms as a set rather than trying to build every form from one stem.

What can follow wissen?

Wissen commonly appears in four useful sentence patterns.

1. A fact or an answer as a noun

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. With wissen, a noun phrase can name the information known:

• Ich weiß die Antwort. — “I know the answer.”
• Niemand weiß den Grund. — “Nobody knows the reason.”

Here die Antwort and den Grund are in the accusative case (the form commonly used for the direct object, meaning what the verb acts on). Many everyday sentences instead use a pronoun such as es or das.

2. es or das for information already mentioned

• Ich weiß es. — “I know.” / “I know it.”
• Das weiß ich nicht. — “I don’t know that.”

The fixed everyday response is Ich weiß es nicht. In casual conversation, Ich weiß nicht is also very common when the missing information is obvious or a clause follows.

3. A subordinate question

After wissen, German often uses a clause introduced by a question word such as wer, was, wo, wann, warum or wie. A clause is a group of words containing its own subject and verb. In this dependent clause, the conjugated verb goes at the end:

• Weißt du, wo er wohnt? — “Do you know where he lives?”
• Ich weiß nicht, wann der Zug kommt. — “I don’t know when the train arrives.”
• Sie weiß, wie das funktioniert. — “She knows how that works.”

English keeps “lives,” “arrives,” and “works” near the subject. German moves wohnt, kommt, and funktioniert to the end. A comma separates the clauses.

4. A statement introduced by dass

Use dass (“that”) when the known information is a complete statement. Again, the verb in the dass clause goes to the end:

• Wir wissen, dass du heute arbeitest. — “We know that you are working today.”
• Er weiß, dass das Geschäft geschlossen ist. — “He knows that the shop is closed.”

In English, “that” can often be omitted. In standard German, dass cannot simply disappear while leaving the same word order. Beginners should keep it and place the verb at the end.

Questions and negation

For a yes/no question, put the conjugated form of wissen first:

• Weißt du das? — “Do you know that?”
• Wissen Sie, wo Raum 12 ist? — “Do you know where room 12 is?”

For a question beginning with a question word, place wissen after that word:

• Was weißt du darüber? — “What do you know about it?”
• Woher wissen Sie das? — “How do you know that?” Literally, woher asks “from where,” so the question asks about the source of the information.

To negate wissen, use nicht:

• Ich weiß es nicht.
• Wir wissen nicht, warum sie fehlt.

Do not translate English “do not” word by word. German does not need a separate equivalent of “do” here; the conjugated form of wissen carries the tense and agrees with the subject.

wissen or kennen?

This is the central meaning contrast for English speakers.

Intended meaning	Usually use	Example
possess a fact or answer	wissen	Ich weiß die Antwort.
know that something is true	wissen	Ich weiß, dass er hier ist.
know where, when, why, or how	wissen	Weißt du, wo sie wohnt?
be acquainted with a person	kennen	Ich kenne Maria.
be familiar with a place or work	kennen	Kennst du Berlin? / Ich kenne den Film.

A practical test is to expand the English sentence. If “know” means “know the fact that…” or can lead into “where/when/why/how…,” choose wissen. If it means “have met,” “recognize,” or “be familiar with,” choose kennen.

Some nouns can occur with either verb, but the meaning changes. Ich kenne die Regel means you are familiar with the rule. Ich weiß die Regel is less usual and, where used, focuses on knowing the rule as information; in everyday German, Ich kenne die Regel or Ich weiß, wie die Regel lautet is often more natural.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich weiß es nicht.	I don’t know.	Essential negative phrase
Weißt du, wo er ist?	Do you know where he is?	Informal singular question; verb-final clause
Sie weiß alles.	She knows everything.	Third-person singular
Wir wissen die Antwort.	We know the answer.	Information expressed as a noun
Wisst ihr, wann der Film beginnt?	Do you all know when the film starts?	Informal plural ihr
Wissen Sie, wo der Ausgang ist?	Do you know where the exit is?	Formal Sie
Niemand weiß den Grund.	Nobody knows the reason.	niemand takes a singular verb
Ich weiß, dass du müde bist.	I know that you are tired.	dass sends bist to the end
Er weiß nicht, wie das Gerät funktioniert.	He doesn’t know how the device works.	Indirect wie question
Woher weißt du das?	How do you know that?	Asks for the source of the knowledge
Das weiß ich schon.	I already know that.	das is first for emphasis
Wir wissen noch nicht, ob sie kommt.	We don’t know yet whether she is coming.	ob introduces an indirect yes/no question
Ich kenne Anna, aber ich weiß nicht, wo sie wohnt.	I know Anna, but I don’t know where she lives.	Direct contrast between kennen and wissen

Common Mistakes

Using a regular ending with ich or er/sie/es

• Wrong: Ich weiße es. / Er weißt es.
• Right: Ich weiß es. / Er weiß es.
• Why: The first- and third-person singular forms have no ending: weiß. The -t appears only in du weißt.

Choosing wissen for familiarity

• Wrong: Ich weiß deinen Bruder.
• Right: Ich kenne deinen Bruder.
• Why: Knowing a person means being acquainted with them, so German uses kennen. Use wissen for information about the person: Ich weiß, wo dein Bruder arbeitet.

Keeping main-clause word order after a question word

• Wrong: Weißt du, wo ist der Bahnhof?
• Right: Weißt du, wo der Bahnhof ist?
• Why: The part beginning with wo is an indirect question, not a direct question. Its conjugated verb goes at the end.

Translating English “do” into the question

• Wrong: Tun Sie wissen, wo er ist?
• Right: Wissen Sie, wo er ist?
• Why: German forms this question by moving wissen before the subject. It does not add a helper verb equivalent to English “do.”

Confusing seit and für with knowledge over time

• Wrong: Ich weiß das für zwei Wochen.
• Right: Ich weiß das seit zwei Wochen.
• Why: German uses seit with the present tense for a situation that began in the past and is still true: “I have known that for two weeks.” English uses the present perfect here, but German normally keeps the present.

Misspelling the singular forms

• Wrong: Ich weis es nicht.
• Right: Ich weiß es nicht.
• Why: In standard German spelling used in Germany and Austria, the verb form is weiß. The spelling weiss is standard in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, where ß is not used.

Usage Notes

Ich weiß nicht can do more than report missing information. Depending on tone, it can soften hesitation: Ich weiß nicht, ob das eine gute Idee ist means “I’m not sure whether that’s a good idea.” A short Weiß ich nicht is common in informal speech. It omits das or es and places the verb first, but beginners can safely use the complete Ich weiß es nicht everywhere.

The adverbs schon and noch nicht are especially frequent with wissen. Ich weiß das schon means “I already know that,” though an impatient tone can make it sound dismissive. Ich weiß es noch nicht means “I don’t know yet.” Compare this with Ich weiß es nicht, which gives no suggestion that an answer may come later.

Formal Sie always takes wissen, whether you are speaking to one person or several: Wissen Sie das? Capitalization distinguishes formal Sie from sie (“she” or “they”) in writing. Context and the verb form help in speech.

English “know how to” does not always map neatly to wissen. For a learned practical ability, German usually prefers können: Ich kann schwimmen (“I know how to swim” / “I can swim”). Use Ich weiß, wie man das macht when you mean that you know the method or instructions.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following patterns at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

von and über with wissen

Von etwas wissen often means to know that something exists or to have heard about it: Ich weiß nichts von dem Termin (“I know nothing about the appointment”). Über etwas Bescheid wissen means to be well informed about a topic: Sie weiß über das Problem Bescheid. The separable expression Bescheid wissen places Bescheid near the end of a main clause: Er weiß gut Bescheid (“He knows the situation well”).

wissen with an infinitive

In elevated or fixed phrasing, wissen can combine with zu plus an infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb): Sie weiß sich zu helfen means “She knows how to help herself” or “She can manage.” This is not the ordinary beginner way to say “know how to”; können or wissen, wie … is usually more direct.

Past forms and the subjunctive

The simple past wusste is very common even in speech: Ich wusste das nicht (“I didn’t know that”). The past participle (a verb form used to build the perfect tense) is gewusst: Das habe ich nicht gewusst. These belong to later tense study, but seeing the change weiß — wusste — gewusst helps you recognize that all three are forms of the same verb.

You may also encounter nicht, dass ich wüsste (“not that I know of”). Wüsste is a subjunctive form (a form used here to make the knowledge hypothetical or uncertain). It is an idiomatic, cautious answer rather than the normal present-tense conjugation.

A noun that looks the same

Capitalized das Wissen is a noun meaning “knowledge”: Wissen ist Macht (“Knowledge is power”). German capitalizes nouns, so Wissen at the beginning of a sentence may be either the noun or the verb’s infinitive; the sentence structure tells you which one it is.

Practice Tips

1. Learn the forms aloud in two groups. Repeat ich weiß, du weißt, er weiß and then wir wissen, ihr wisst, sie wissen. Build one short sentence for each subject rather than memorizing an isolated chart.
2. Turn direct questions into questions with wissen. Start with Wo ist die Bank? and change it to Weißt du, wo die Bank ist? This trains both the conjugation and verb-final word order.
3. Sort examples into “information” and “familiarity.” For each English sentence containing “know,” decide whether German needs wissen or kennen. Add a reason: fact, clause, person, place, or familiar object.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular Verbs in the Present — provides the normal German present-tense pattern against which the irregular forms of wissen stand out.