Verb 'wissen' (Present) in German

Overview

The verb wissen means "to know" in the sense of knowing facts or information. It is one of the first irregular verbs you learn at the A1 level because it appears in everyday conversation constantly. "Ich weiß es nicht" (I don't know) is one of the most useful phrases in German.

Wissen is special because it conjugates like a modal verb in the present tense: the singular forms have a stem vowel change and the ich and er/sie/es forms share the same ending. This sets it apart from kennen, the other German verb meaning "to know," which refers to familiarity with people, places, or things rather than factual knowledge.

Understanding the difference between wissen and kennen is essential for sounding natural in German. You wissen a fact, but you kennen a person.

How It Works

Present Tense Conjugation

Person	Pronoun	Conjugation	English
1st sg.	ich	weiß	I know
2nd sg.	du	weißt	you know
3rd sg.	er/sie/es	weiß	he/she/it knows
1st pl.	wir	wissen	we know
2nd pl.	ihr	wisst	you all know
3rd pl.	sie/Sie	wissen	they/you (formal) know

Wissen vs. Kennen

Verb	Used For	Example
wissen	facts, information, clauses	Ich weiß, wo er wohnt.
kennen	people, places, things (familiarity)	Ich kenne ihn.

Rule of thumb: If you can follow the verb with a dass-clause, ob-clause, or question word (wo, wann, wie, etc.), use wissen. If you follow it with a direct noun (a person, city, book), use kennen.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich weiß es nicht.	I don't know.	Most common usage
Weißt du, wo er ist?	Do you know where he is?	Followed by question clause
Sie weiß alles.	She knows everything.	Factual knowledge
Wir wissen das schon.	We already know that.	Referring to information
Wisst ihr, wann er kommt?	Do you know when he's coming?	Informal plural
Ich weiß, dass er recht hat.	I know that he is right.	Followed by dass-clause
Wissen Sie, wo der Bahnhof ist?	Do you know where the station is?	Formal question
Er weiß nicht, was er will.	He doesn't know what he wants.	Followed by question word
Ich kenne ihn. (not: Ich weiß ihn.)	I know him.	Kennen for people
Das weiß ich genau.	I know that for sure.	Emphasis on certainty

Common Mistakes

Using wissen instead of kennen for people

• Wrong: Ich weiß deinen Bruder.
• Right: Ich kenne deinen Bruder.
• Why: For familiarity with people, places, or things, use kennen. Wissen is for facts and information.

Forgetting the stem change in singular forms

• Wrong: Ich wisse es nicht.
• Right: Ich weiß es nicht.
• Why: Wissen has a modal-verb-like conjugation: the stem changes to weiß in all singular forms.

Confusing the ich and er/sie/es forms

• Wrong: Er weißt das. (adding -t like a regular verb)
• Right: Er weiß das.
• Why: Like modal verbs, ich and er/sie/es share the same form: weiß (no ending added to er/sie/es).

Practice Tips

1. Practice the phrase "Ich weiß nicht, ..." followed by different question words: wo (where), wann (when), wie (how), warum (why), was (what). This builds fluency with the most common wissen pattern.
2. Make a list of ten things you know (wissen) and ten people or places you know (kennen). This will help solidify the distinction between the two verbs.

Related Concepts

• Regular Verbs (Present) — the parent concept for present tense verb conjugation