German Word of the Day
schlafen
SCHLA-fen • verb — 13th of Jun, 2026
Listen to pronunciation
Meaning: to sleep; to be asleep
Examples
- Ich schlafe acht Stunden pro Nacht.
(I sleep eight hours per night.) - Ich kann heute Nacht nicht schlafen.
(I can't sleep tonight.) - Das Baby schläft tief und fest.
(The baby is sleeping deeply/soundly.)
Synonyms
Click a synonym to see how it compares to schlafen.
Conjugation
| Person | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | ich schlafe | ich schlief |
| du | du schläfst | du schliefst |
| er/sie/es | er schläft | er schlief |
| wir | wir schlafen | wir schliefen |
| ihr | ihr schlaft | ihr schlieft |
| sie/Sie | sie schlafen | sie schliefen |
See all 6 tenses of schlafen →
Use schlafen for the act of sleeping. For going to sleep you can say schlafen gehen. Schlummern and pennen are more informal (pennen = slang), while ruhen means to rest and doesn't always imply full sleep.
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