verb
to be allowed to, may
A1
Dürfen means 'to be allowed to' or 'may'. It's a modal verb with present stem vowel alternation (ich darf, er darf) and past durfte; participle gedurft. Uses auxiliary haben in compound tenses. Non‑reflexive, not used in passive forms directly. Imperative lacks du form; ihr form is dürft. Common for permission and prohibition.
Examples
Darf ich heute früher gehen?
May I leave earlier today?
Ich durfte das nicht.
I wasn't allowed to do that.
Du darfst hier nicht rauchen.
You are not allowed to smoke here.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine a green traffic light meaning 'you may go' whenever you see dürfen
sounds like 'doer-fen' — think 'doer' who is allowed to act
n/a
Notes
Modal verb used to express permission. Conjugates irregularly in the present (ich darf, du darfst). In perfect tenses uses haben (gedurft). Passive constructions are marginal/rare and generally not used with modal verbs like 'dürfen' (personal passive forms are not applicable). Imperative forms are uncommon; the 'du' and formal 'Sie' imperatives are generally not used. For these reasons several passive and certain subjunctive/präteritum blocks are marked as not applicable in the conjugation table.