German · Everyday Verbs

"to send" in German: schicken

schicken

Say it: SHIK-enverb/ˈʃɪkn̩/

Note: also: senden

To send in German is schicken. Say Ich schicke dir die Datei or Schickst du die Post?. Senden is a formal alternative.

Sharing photos

Ich schicke dir die Fotos per Mail.
I'll send you the photos by email.
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How to pronounce schicken

Say it

SHIK-en

/ˈʃɪkn̩/

SHIK-en. Soft sch. Short i. Soft -en.

"to send" in German: quick reference

GermanEnglish
schickento send

Everyday verb.

ich schicke / du schickstI send / you send

Present.

geschicktsent

Past participle.

sendento send

More formal; different verb.

How to use schicken in real life

  1. 1Sharing photos

    Ich schicke dir die Fotos per Mail.

    I'll send you the photos by email.

    Ich schicke.

  2. 2Package

    Schickst du das Paket heute noch?

    Are you sending the package today still?

    Schickst du.

  3. 3Already done

    Die Rechnung habe ich gestern geschickt.

    I sent the invoice yesterday.

    Geschickt.

Mistakes English speakers make with schicken

Incorrect: Ich sende dir die Fotos. (only, for headword)

Correct: Ich schicke dir die Fotos.

For this headword prefer schicken; senden alone does not count.

Incorrect: Das Outfit ist schick. (as the verb)

Correct: Ich schicke die Datei.

Adjective schick is not the verb schicken.

Good to know

Schicken covers messages, files, and parcels. Zusenden and schicken are both fine in emails; schicken wins in chat.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Sharing a PDF before class

  1. ChatPal

    Schickst du mir das PDF vor zwölf?

    Will you send me the PDF before twelve?

  2. You

    Ja, ich schicke es dir in fünf Minuten.

    Yes, I'll send it to you in five minutes.

  3. ChatPal

    Danke. Hast du auch die Notizen geschickt?

    Thanks. Did you also send the notes?

  4. You

    Noch nicht ich schicke die Notizen gleich mit.

    Not yet — I'll send the notes along now.

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"to send" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to send" in German

How do you conjugate schicken?

Ich schicke, du schickst, er/sie schickt, wir schicken.

Past participle?

Geschickt.

Schicken vs senden?

Same idea; schicken is more everyday.

Send me that?

Schick mir das.

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