Which one should you use?
While English uses 'drive' primarily for motorized vehicles, fahren is used more broadly for any mode of transport involving wheels or tracks, such as a bicycle, train or bus. Additionally, while English speakers might use 'ride' for both bicycles and horses, German distinguishes between the two: use fahren for vehicles and reiten specifically for riding animals.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When forming the perfect tense with verbs of movement or change of location, fahren uses the auxiliary verb sein instead of haben. For example, ist gefahren means 'has driven' or 'went'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈfaːʁɛn/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes mistakenly use treiben or antreiben to mean operating a vehicle. However, fahren is the standard verb for the movement of the vehicle itself.
Did you know?
- The word 'farewell' comes from the same linguistic family as fahren, as it originally meant 'may you go well'.
- Because fahren describes a change of location, it uses the auxiliary verb sein (to be) in the perfect tense. Instead of saying 'I have driven', a German speaker says Ich bin gefahren, which literally means 'I am driven'.
- Using the verb treiben to mean 'driving a car' is a common mistake for learners. In German, treiben refers to drifting, pushing or driving cattle, but never operating a vehicle.
Examples in context
- Er kann Auto fahren.He can drive a car.This sentence shows how to express the ability to drive a car using fahren.Tatoeba #1204038 by samueldora, translation #293898 by CK
- Ich kann Sie fahren.I can drive you.This sentence demonstrates using fahren to describe driving a person.Tatoeba #8064850 by Luiaard, translation #3728969 by CM
- Ich kann LKW fahren.I know how to drive a truck.This sentence shows how to express knowledge of how to drive a truck using fahren.Tatoeba #14048482 by Waldelfe, translation #6264734 by CK
- Ich fahre mit dem Auto zur Arbeit.I drive to work by car.
- Er fährt gerne Motorrad.He enjoys riding motorcycles.
- Das Schiff fährt nach Hamburg.The ship is sailing to Hamburg.
- Ich fahre gleich zur Party.I'm driving to the party soon.
- Wir sind gestern bis spät in die Nacht Auto gefahren.We drove the car until late last night.
- Bist du schon mal Motorrad gefahren?Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?
- Ich habe keinen Führerschein.I don't have a driver's license.
- Lass uns eine Spritztour machen!Let's go for a joyride!
- Ich bin gestern Auto gefahren.I drove a car yesterday.
- Kannst du fahren?Can you drive?
- 539 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julia and Lukas are deciding how to get to the city center.
- JuliaSoll ich heute zum Zentrum fahren?Should I drive to the center today?
- LukasJa, das wäre sehr nett von dir, Julia.Yes, that would be very nice of you, Julia.
- JuliaKannst du auch fahren, Lukas?Can you drive too, Lukas?
- LukasNein, ich habe leider keinen Führerschein.No, unfortunately I don't have a driver's license.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “drive” translations and entries fahren, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries fahren, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
