Verb 'haben' (Present) in German

Overview

The verb haben (to have) is one of the two most important verbs in German, alongside sein. At the A1 level, you will use it every day to talk about possessions, relationships, physical states, and more. It is also a key helping verb for forming the past tense (Perfekt) with most verbs.

While haben is slightly irregular — the du and er/sie/es forms lose the b from the stem — it is much more predictable than sein. Once you get comfortable with these forms, you will notice that German uses haben in many expressions where English uses "to be," such as Ich habe Hunger (I am hungry, literally "I have hunger").

How It Works

Pronoun	Form	English
ich	habe	I have
du	hast	you have (informal)
er/sie/es	hat	he/she/it has
wir	haben	we have
ihr	habt	you all have (informal)
sie/Sie	haben	they have / you have (formal)

Key points:

• The stem changes from hab- to ha- in the du and er/sie/es forms
• wir, sie (they), and Sie (formal) all share the infinitive form: haben
• German uses haben for many states that English expresses with "to be"

Common haben expressions (different from English):

German	Literal	English
Hunger haben	to have hunger	to be hungry
Durst haben	to have thirst	to be thirsty
Angst haben	to have fear	to be afraid
Recht haben	to have right	to be right
Glück haben	to have luck	to be lucky

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich habe Zeit.	I have time.	Basic possession
Er hat ein Auto.	He has a car.	With indefinite article
Wir haben Hunger.	We are hungry.	haben expression
Hast du Geschwister?	Do you have siblings?	Question form
Sie hat zwei Kinder.	She has two children.	Family
Ihr habt Glück.	You all are lucky.	haben expression
Haben Sie eine Frage?	Do you have a question?	Formal
Ich habe keine Ahnung.	I have no idea.	Common phrase
Er hat Recht.	He is right.	haben expression
Wir haben ein Problem.	We have a problem.	Stating a situation

Common Mistakes

Using "to be" translations instead of haben

• Wrong: Ich bin hungrig. (understandable but unusual)
• Right: Ich habe Hunger.
• Why: German uses haben for physical states like hunger, thirst, and fear. While hungrig exists as an adjective, the haben construction is far more common.

Forgetting the stem change in "du" and "er/sie/es"

• Wrong: Du habst Zeit.
• Right: Du hast Zeit.
• Why: The b drops out in these forms. It is hast (not habst) and hat (not habt for er/sie/es).

Mixing up "habt" (ihr) and "hat" (er/sie/es)

• Wrong: Er habt ein Buch.
• Right: Er hat ein Buch.
• Why: habt belongs exclusively to ihr. For er/sie/es, the form is hat.

Practice Tips

1. Possession inventory: Describe what you and people around you have: "Ich habe ein Handy. Mein Bruder hat einen Laptop. Wir haben einen Hund."
2. haben expressions flashcards: Make cards for the expressions that differ from English (Hunger haben, Angst haben, Recht haben) and quiz yourself regularly.
3. Conjugation ping-pong: With a study partner, take turns giving a pronoun while the other says the correct form: "ihr" → "habt," "du" → "hast."

Related Concepts

• Parent: Subject Pronouns (Nominative) — the pronouns used with haben
• Perfect Tense with haben — how haben is used as a helping verb for the past tense